The Sullivan Chronicle
by SayianWizard
Summary: In Smallville canon, Chloe Sullivan was the lovable but doormat sidekick. In alternate reality she is so much more. After almost falling to her death in Kinetic, she soon awakens a power within herself more powerful than she could've ever imagined. Luckily, she has the help of her father, a dashing billionaire, and a mildly annoying farmboy to help her better adjust to the change.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I do not own Smallville.**

This story will primarily be Chloe centric but will POVs occasionally as the story needs to. Basically it's an exploration of what-ifs. Like what-if Chloe was a main character and had her own unique story to tell? Please give it a read and let me know what you think.

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Chapter One

Before that moment, it seemed like everything around me had slowed down One moment I was struggling to get a masked thief's arm from around my windpipe, and the next I was suddenly being flung through the air. I could feel the glass as it buckled under my weight, could feel as it cut through my blouse and dug deep into the skin of my back.

I barely had time to register the pain before in an instant I realized where I was. I was on the third floor of the mansion. The third floor!

I barely managed to grab onto the ledge under the window with both hands. How exactly? I couldn't tell you, but I choked up my miraculous reflexes to the fact my life was in eminent danger.

Panic and fear gripped my entire being as I contemplated that this was how I was going to die. Of all the other stupidly dangerous things I'd done as an investigative journalist; snooping, spying, breaking and entering, even a little stalking. Here I was about to land a gem of an interview with the infamous Luthor heir—an interview he'd granted of his own free will no less! Only to find myself caught in the middle of a robbery and getting thrown out of a window to my death simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time not of my own choosing. It sucked, big time.

Yet, for some strange reason as I dangled precariously from the ledge, I held out hope that Clark would save me. Irrational as it was to think he could take down three grown men who probably had guns in enough time to rescue me from falling to my death. Even Clark Kent wasn't _that_ invincible.

I could feel my fingers slipping as I called for help, Clark, ANYONE really, to save me. I was waiting for my life to flash before my eyes like the media and people say happens but really all I could think about was how much it was going to hurt if I was unfortunate enough not to die right away, or remain conscious after the fall.

Before I had time to think of any regrets, my death grip ran out and I felt gravity finally take hold. Briefly, I mused that I was falling head first, the route which gave me the least chance for survival. Just perfect. It seems like what little luck I possessed had been used up landing this ill-fated interview.

I don't recall hitting the ground or feeling the pain that would accompany it. All I could remember was a surprisingly short free fall then complete darkness. A darkness that I fully believed would swallow me whole, erasing me from existence. My last conscious thought was how devastated Dad would be when he learned about my death.

* * *

The first thing she registered was pain. Sharp, searing and throbbing pain which seemed to radiate all along her body. Particularly along her head, back, and left arm. She tried to move her right arm, the part of her body that hurt least, but soon found it to be a futile effort. It felt impossible to muster up the energy to even wiggle one of her toes.

 _Well_ , she thought, _at least I'm alive. Though I really hope I just can't move my legs because my limbs are sore and not because I'm paralyzed._ She really didn't want to contemplate that possibility any further. Though if the ache she was feeling in her legs was any indication then she likely was alright.

Instead she concentrated on opening her eyes. A task which proved difficult since they felt crusted over. _Gross._

It took more effort than she would have liked to pry them open but was pleased when she finally managed it. Pleasure turned to instant regret as she was blinded by sunlight filtering into the room. Quickly closing her eyes Chloe winced as the pain shot straight to her head, making her mentally curse up a storm since her mouth was too dry for the task.

After a minute Chloe slowly opened her eyes a little at a time letting them adjust to the sunlight until she could see the room more clearly. With the amount of pain she was in Chloe knew she could be nowhere else but the hospital. She was proven right as her eyes observed the various machines positioned around the room, several of which she was attached to.

She tried to turn her head to get a better look around but moving only made her head swim, temporarily obscuring her vision. Closing her eyes to try and stop the sensation Chloe finally registered the noises coming from outside her room, the sounds of voices, scuffling feet, and gurneys.

Opening her eyes again when she was sure everything had settled Chloe finally noticed all the flowers surrounding the room. They were all colorful and consisted of different varieties though she couldn't help but inwardly grin as she spotted the large wreath of flowers she was more than sure were from Lex Luthor. The arrangement was large in the shape of a 'U' and the flowers were a light purple color.

 _He really doesn't do anything by half does he?_

A cough suddenly bubbled up in her throat that she tried to suppress but couldn't as it rocked through her whole body making the pain she was already in heighten significantly. She let out a small groan, feeling a metallic taste on her tongue and the back of her throat.

Chloe spotted a pitcher of water on a tray beside her and tried to reach for it, only to realize it was on her left. The side where her broken and useless arm resided. Wonderful. Just as she was wondering how she could summon someone to get it for her, a nurse entered the room.

The woman walked in with a smile opening her mouth no doubt to ask how she was feeling only to pause as Chloe let out a hacking cough.

"Ma'am, do you need some water?" she asked with concern.

Chloe unable to speak nodded her head as much as she could hoping the woman saw it. Apparently she did because next thing she knew her head was being supported as a cup of water was brought to her lips with a straw in it.

"Please drink slowly and only take small sips. Any more than that and you'll choke," the woman instructed.

She diligently followed the nurse's instructions until she felt she had enough and was able to rasp out a, "Thank you."

The woman smiled. "You're welcome. I'll go get the doctor since your awake now." She gently set down the cup. After briefly checking her vitals the woman left.

Idly, she wondered where her father was but figured he probably stayed during the night with her then went to work during the day. He was the plant manager after all, and was in charge when Lex wasn't around and had to make sure things ran smoothly. While he could have taken time off he probably realized as she did that sitting around all day wouldn't make her wake up any faster. All it would do is drive him crazy with worry.

Plus her father was where she got her own sense of restlessness from. Sitting around doing nothing but waiting was torture for them. They had to be busy doing something. However, she was sure once they told him she was awake he would be right over.

Chloe hoped he wasn't going to give her a lecture because this totally wasn't a disaster of her own making. She for once really just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Go figure that the one time she wasn't meddling was when she actually got seriously hurt instead of a little banged up and shaken.

A couple of doctors, courtesy of Lex, soon came in explaining the injuries she'd suffered and that she'd been out of it for three days. She'd suffered some pretty bad brain trauma, and while she hadn't fractured her skull her brain had been rattled around quite a bit. Fortunately, they were able to stop the swelling with a quick surgery where they drilled a hole in her skull to release some of the pressure. They were actually surprised she was awake already.

Her spine luckily hadn't suffered any damage so she wasn't paralyzed but her back would be sore for quite some time. Apparently she had landed in soft grass which had helped cushion her fall somewhat. Aside from the brain surgery and a broken arm, the rest of her body was simply extremely sore.

After running a series of tests they declared that she was healing nicely, but wouldn't know for sure about her brain until they did a CAT scan. They had already contacted her father letting him know she was awake; he would be here soon.

With a swirl of their white coats they were soon gone along with the nurse who promised to bring her something to eat after she administered some pain medicine into her IV drip.

Sighing Chloe looked around the room trying to find something interesting to do as she felt the pain start to lessen. _Thank God for those nifty fast-acting drugs._

Chloe nearly groaned when she realized there was no TV in her room. Of all the rooms, especially one as nice and spacious as this one she had to get the one without a television. There weren't even any books or magazines around to read. She was on the third floor so she couldn't even people watch except for seeing what was outside her room in the corridor but that was hardly interesting.

Luckily, she didn't have long to contemplate her boredom before the nurse came in and served Chloe her choice of jello. She choose the green one and was assisted in eating since it took some difficulty for her to even lift her arms let alone hold a spoon.

Once finished she politely asked the nurse if she could bring her some reading material of any kind. The woman agreed and left to see if she could find some books or a magazine or two.

Minutes later Chloe found herself dozing off into a light sleep.

When she next woke it was to her father standing over her.

"Chloe, sweetheart, how are you feeling?" Gabe asked with concern. Gabriel "Gabe" Sullivan was a man in his early forties with short brown hair, green eyes and a kind face.

Though Chloe didn't get any of his physical looks, aside from his eye color, she was all him in the personality department. At least that's how it's always felt to her. He understood her best. No one else ever came close or tried to.

"Like I fell from a three story mansion," she replied cheekily.

Gabe tried for a stern look but a small grin broke across face as he chuckled. "Well, considering that your wits intact. I can conclude that your mind's fine and you're well on your way to recovery."

"Of course, we Sullivan's are survivors after all," Chloe grinned up at her father. Her expression soon sobered as she continued to gaze at him, prompting his own expression to become somber. "I hope I didn't cause you to worry too much Dad. It certainly wasn't my intention to find myself in the middle of a robbery and get thrown out a window."

"I know it wasn't you intention sweetheart," Gabe assured while patting her hand. "Even you couldn't have predicted how things would turn out. Life has a funny way of working like that."

"Yes, like you dodging my question about you worrying too much," quipped Chloe.

Gabe rolled his eyes affectionately. "Ever the reporter, even while laid up in the hospital." He sighed, "What am I going to do with you?"

Chloe smiled deciding to let it go for now. "Oh I don't know, but I'm sure you'll figure something out."

Gabe grinned while leaning forward to place a kiss on Chloe's forehead. "I'm glad you're okay, kiddo."

Chloe felt tears prickle her eyes as she looked at him. "Me too Dad, me too."

Over the next several hours Chloe was entertained first by her father until he had to return to work then a steady stream of visitors who had come to wish her well.

While normally she would have been bothered by so many people accosting her endlessly, she welcomed it today since there was little else for her to do while confined to bed.

Did she mention how much she hated catheters?

The nurse from earlier had returned with plenty of reading material but she hadn't gotten a chance to pick up even one book or magazine with all her visitors. She was pleasantly surprised at the amount of people who came to see that she was alright.

Sometime later when things had slowed down she was about to start reading a book called _Ender's Game_ by Orson Scott Card when one of the people she wanted to see most finally stepped inside her doorway bearing her favorite flowers.

She almost thought it romantic until Clark entered into 'everything is my fault mode' which she had to quickly quip him out of. Seriously, she never could understand why he thought he was responsible for every bad thing that happened in Smallville.

Still the visit was pretty nice. She told him what little she could remember of the asshole who almost killed her.. He promised to do some digging to find out what happened, making her wonder if her being a reporter had finally rubbed off on him. While flattered, it was the kiss placed on her forehead that made her internally do a happy dance.

Maybe he was finally noticing her?

 _Or_ , whispered a knowing voice, _he's simply being a concerned friend and your reading too much into it. He's firmly into Lana Lang, not you._

She studiously choose to ignore it.

The two weeks she stayed in the hospital passed by torturously slow. She had blown through all the reading material the nurse had given her by the third day and the number of visitors she had had significantly lowered. The people she saw regularly now were her Dad, Pete, Clark and occasionally Lana.

Though Lex did make an appearance the second day of the first week in the afternoon.

Chloe could admit to being a little surprised when he showed up. She didn't know why. After all he had paid for specialists to come in and see her, not to mention the Kentucky Derby like wreath of flowers.

She supposed that might have been the minimum of what she expected. As far as she knew, Lex Luthor didn't make a habit of visiting people who were barely acquaintances in the hospital unless it had to do with business.

Still, it was a much welcome visit. He strolled into the room dressed in his standard outfit of an expensive black suit with a purple shirt sans tie. He struck a handsome profile as usual.

"Chloe. I'm glad to see you're awake and well."

"Well, we Sullivan's are made of tough stuff. It takes a lot more than that to get rid of us," she teasingly boasted.

Lex gave an amused smile. "I'll keep that in mind." He paused in his steps for a second before moving to occupy the chair by her bedside. A solemn expression came over his face as he looked her in the eye.

"Chloe, I'm truly sorry about what happened. You never should have been in any danger. I promise you that I'll find and bring to justice the people who did this to you," he said with steely determined look.

Oddly enough, somehow his visiting her at the hospital surprised her but not him apologizing for what happened at the mansion personally. Honestly her head must still be screwed up. However, she believed Lex meant what he said, especially the part about bringing those criminals to justice. He wasn't the type of person to let people invade his domain and take what they wanted. Those guys would definitely regret the day they crossed Lex Luthor.

She gave him as bright a smile as she could muster. "Thank you. I appreciate that. However," and here her smile turned mischievous, "there are two things you could do for me that I would really appreciate more."

Lex raised an eyebrow with a small smirk moving to cross his arms. "Oh, and what would those two things be?"

"First, you need to seriously overhaul the security at the mansion. Those guys may have walked through walls, but it's more than a few feet before someone even reaches the mansion walls. I'd hate to hear about a dashing young billionaire being murdered in his home," she said half-serious, and half playfully.

Lex nodded. "Duly noted. The other thing?"

Here she gave a teasing smirk. "I distinctly seem to recall that we didn't get to finish our interview/verbal judo. I would very much like to continue where we left off. That is if you're not scared."

"Oh, I'm not afraid, and I definitely look forward to our rematch, Ms. Sullivan," Lex responded with the patented Luthor smirk. "Just email me whenever you're ready to bring your 'A' game. Though I'll warn you in advance, I always bring my best."

"So do I _Mr. Luthor_."

They shared challenging grins and spent the next hour practicing their 'verbal judo' on a wide range of meaningless topics until the nurse came and brought her meds. She never knew Lex Luthor could be so interesting, aside from his money and permanent baldness.

The only other bright spots were when her dad brought her laptop and Pete, through her instructions, hooked her up to the Internet through the phone line, and helped Clark with finding out how those thieves could go through walls.

Normally research of that caliber would have taken her some time but it was barely two hours before she had worked things out. It was actually kind of weird though she chalked it up to just becoming a better reporter/researcher.

She felt relief when Clark told her those thugs had been arrested and immediately felt joy when a few days later she was finally allowed to leave the hospital, albeit in a wheelchair with instructions to stay home abed for a couple more days to allow her bruised back and head to heal before attempting school. Her arm oddly enough had already healed along with her other injuries, just her back and head still needed time.

Chloe didn't protest the extended bed rest since as long as she got out of the hospital she was good. After all, they couldn't follow her home and make sure she was actually resting in a bed. Plus she had no qualms about missing school since she could do her homework and the Torch's work from home on her laptop anyway.

However, convincing her dad that she would be fine without him all day was another matter. She was fifteen years old for God's sake! She did not need a baby sitter! After much arguing she finally convinced him she would be fine by agreeing to his every two hour phone checks.

Chloe thought that when she finally started school again in a couple of days that everything would be back to normal. Her running the Torch, hanging out with Clark and Pete, bemoaning school, studying about the effects of the meteor rocks and hopelessly fawning after Clark.

She didn't realize how wrong she was.

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 **A/N** : So this is a new story I've been working on for months. It's only recently that I've felt good enough about it to finally post the first chapter. I won't make any promises about when I'll update (I've learned my lesson about that) but they'll happen in due time. Anyway hope you enjoy this.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I do not own Smallville.**

Rating is subject to change.

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Chapter Two

Returning home was at first a relief for Chloe. There was no lingering smell of bleach and antiseptic, no incessant beeping of machines, no com calls, no nurses and doctors constantly checking up on her, and best of all no steady drum of noise.

There was peace and quiet where she could focus on her own thoughts.

However, she didn't account for exactly where that quiet would lead her thinking. Not thirty minutes after her father had left the house for work did it really hit her what she'd gone through.

It caught her off guard how the tears and hysteria set in like a virus leaving her unable to fight it alone or regain her composure.

She hadn't even reached adulthood and she'd almost died. God, almost dead at only fifteen years old. And what did she have to show for it? What had she accomplished of importance in her fifteen years of life? Jeez, what was she doing?

Yeah, she'd won a substantial amount of awards and trophies for sports and school related activities, volunteered for the community occasionally and at the very least made her father proud of her but that was about it. She hadn't really accomplished anything world changing yet.

Sure, she had the Torch but it wasn't exactly the high school newspaper to end all high school newspapers. Just a couple months ago Kwan had called her out on her lack of journalistic integrity. The horrible thing about it was that he had a point. She hadn't been backing up many of her stories with concrete evidence or fact. Wasn't that the most important thing for a journalist to do? To prove what they're saying is true without a doubt?

Or at least that's what she'd worked out in her mind. After all, that was the only way for people to take you seriously. Otherwise you were in the same league with publications like _The_ _Inquisitor_ or _The Globe_.

Yet, thinking of the Torch only made her wonder about her decision to become a journalist. Chloe knew why she'd picked it as a profession. There was no question about that. She was someone who wanted to know the truth, a truth-seeker. She wasn't satisfied with something that interested her until she knew the whole truth of the matter.

It went without saying that it was a trait that had gotten her into trouble many a time. Many people thought it was her being nosy, but it wasn't, not really. The people of Smallville would needless to say be shocked if they knew how much information she had on everyone in the town. A lot of it was information she kept to herself. She really only shared what she thought people ought to know.

Maybe it was arrogant of her to assume to know what people needed to know but that was just how she operated. Chloe could explain all these things to the people of Smallville till she was blue in the face and they wouldn't believe her. Unfortunately, that included her friends.

They might think they were being subtle but she'd noticed how they hesitated to share things with her or just plain withheld what she felt were pointless things from her. Afraid that there crazy reporter friend would share it with the world. No, nothing was sacred to Chloe Sullivan in her pursuit of journalism. She wasn't even sure how or when they'd gotten such an impression, or what she'd done to make it seem that way.

Many a time she'd had to swallow the lump in her throat that accompanied the realization that they didn't trust her as a real friend. Other times it made her so angry. She'd never even given them a reason to think she would share their personal business with the entire Smallville population. They were her friends after all; at least she considered them friends though they sometimes proved not to feel the same.

It was those times that always made her miss living in Metropolis where the friends she'd made there had actually understood her and knew she was a good friend.

That still begged the question again: Why did she cling to journalism when it didn't do her any good? Or rather a better question was: Why did she cling to journalism here in Smallville when it did her no good? What had she accomplished here?

The answer she'd come to after finally calming down and drying her tears hadn't comforted her.

It was literally all she had here.

She didn't have Pete and Clark's complete friendship, none of the activities she was interested in were available at Smallville High, she had no female friends and was pretty much an outcast because her personality didn't really fit into any of the school's cliques.

While Chloe wouldn't say she wanted to popular, she did want to be noticed, to be liked. She wanted to have value to people. Hell, she wanted to make an important difference in the world.

Which all the more left her wondering about her choice to be a reporter. Being a reporter wasn't the only way to find the truth or make a difference in the world. It wasn't like her grades were a roadblock, she got straight A's in all her classes.

Sure the Torch was the only thing she could call her own in Smallville but she shouldn't have let it hold her back. Having it taken away had opened her eyes to that fact but she had gotten it back so fast the revelation had been pushed to the back of her mind. No doubt not to purposely dwell on how pathetic she had become.

That a high school newspaper suddenly completely defined her was not a fact she liked. The move to Smallville had not done her good like her father thought it would. Instead, the outgoing girl from Metropolis who had been involved all manner of things and was unafraid to put herself out there, had become the girl who seemed outgoing but actually hid her true self and sometimes tried too hard to appear eccentric.

She was a different person here. While that might have been a good thing in better circumstances, it wasn't in this case. She despised the person she was becoming.

Chloe Sullivan was better than this. She was smarter than this.

Therefore it was high time she started changing back into the person she was before coming to Smallville.

With that thought in mind Chloe hefted herself out of bed and started working on the new and improved Chloe Sullivan.

* * *

Unfortunately, the new and improved Chloe Sullivan was significantly delayed when she started school again. In more ways than one.

During those few days before she had gone back to school Chloe had staunchly reevaluated her life and the things most important to her.

She would still run the Torch. No one cared about it as much as she did and she had put too much time and effort into the paper to just give it up. However, she hadn't yet completely decided on what other things she would be doing instead of completely focusing on the Torch.

She had some ideas like picking up old interests again like karting, fencing, debate, martial arts, or chess maybe? Or possibly kicking up her research of the meteor rocks a notch, or….something. She was still undecided on exactly what.

However, her recent indecision on what to do with her life wasn't her biggest problem right now. No, that problem came in the form of her inquisitive nature and Clark Kent's secretive one.

Chloe knew the assigned paper wasn't meant to be an expose or to find out all of a person's secrets, but she saw it as a chance to really get to know Clark Kent. Yes, she was sure they were friends but they weren't close friends by any means. That honor seemed to go to Pete, at least it felt that way.

It was hard to describe, but with her other friends after so many years or less of knowing them she felt she actually knew who they were at their core. She was a pretty good judge of character and lie detector.

She had Clark's character down, he was a great person. But as far as really knowing him, Chloe couldn't claim to. Also, his lies never failed to annoy her even though she couldn't prove some of them. However, she trusted her instincts which had never failed her.

With the goal of uncovering who her friend was Chloe had begun her assignment, and was immediately thwarted at every turn not only by Clark but his parents no less.

Maybe talking to them in the standard interview format had freaked them out. Fine. However, that didn't account for their skittishness and the way they treated her like she was trying to uncover their deepest darkest secrets. All she'd asked was how the adoption process for Clark went, and what he was like during their first few years together.

After getting what little she could from them Chloe had only been even more puzzled. Exactly what the hell was going on with the Kent's? And why did it seem to center around Clark?

Chloe's increased curiosity however was soon brought to a screeching halt after Clark found out she looked into his adoption.

It pained her but she could admit that she probably had crossed the line by doing that. She could also admit part of her desire to truly get to know him also stemmed from the small crush she'd recently acquired.

On the other hand, how was she supposed to know he didn't know? Not to mention the Kent's wouldn't give her a name either, claiming they couldn't remember. How do you not remember the agency where you adopted your only son? How do you not remember if he had any parents listed on his birth certificate or not? It was all so frustrating.

Clark began avoiding her like the plague for the next few days which only enhanced her annoyance and anger. It wasn't long before she decided to do something about it.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Chloe watched as Clark seemed to ignore her, getting up to walk upstairs. Taking a deep breath and following after him, she decided to try one more time.

"How are you feeling?"

"That depends if it's on the record or not," said Clark snidely.

Chloe felt a flash of annoyance, barely restraining herself from saying what she really wanted to that comment. Instead she decided for the more diplomatic approach, "Okay, maybe I deserve that. Look, I didn't mean to ambush you with the whole adoption thing."

Clark continued to walk away with Chloe still following. She wished he would turn around and face her. She didn't like speaking to anyone's back.

"Hey you saw a story and you went right for it. That's what journalist do."

Chloe paused at that statement. No, she was not going to let that one go.

"Is that what you think? Is that all I am to you? Please Clark, tell me what you really think of me?" Chloe felt anger start to boil within her.

Clark finally turned around to face her. Chloe stared him down waiting for his response.

"Yes, that's what I think journalist do. Chloe, you're my friend, my friend who just so happens to be a journalist. Look, there are just some things that should stay private. I know that when you get a hold of a story you chase after it with tenacity, and that's amazing but sometimes you go too far.

I'm not some story for you to chase after. I value my privacy and don't want my personal business out there for all the whole world to see. Can you understand that?" Clark's jaw tensely was set in a grimace with his eyes boring into Chloe's trying to make her understand.

Oh, she understood. Things were just as she feared they were. She had to consciously swallow down the mix of emotions churning within her. She felt frustration and resignation at the truth in some of Clark's words, along with anger and indignation at the rest of it.

It took her several moments before she could properly respond to him. "I can understand that." Clark's stern face started to morph into a happy one. "But," emphasized Chloe, causing Clark's expression to falter, "Your assumptions couldn't be farther from the truth. Yes, I crossed the line at looking into your adoption without your permission. I just assumed you knew those things and also assumed you would want to know about your real parents. That was me unfortunately projecting."

Clark opened his mouth to speak but Chloe held up a hand forestalling him. "No, you had your chance to speak, this is my time now. Okay, I'll admit to being a zealous journalist, it's who I am at heart. I'm a truth-seeker; someone who wants to know all the facts to the things that interest or are important to me." She gave Clark a sharp look when he tried to speak again. "You're in the latter category believe it or not."

"However, as someone who seeks the truth that doesn't mean I always share what I learn with everyone. And that's what's bothering me about this whole thing between us. I know I don't, but you assume that I do. You assume whatever I learn about you that you don't want me to or whatever, that I'll share it with everyone in the _Torch_."

"Don't deny it! You pretty much admitted as such not a minute ago. Not to mention since I've gotten control of the _Torch_ I've noticed how you and Pete hold things back from me. The two of you are barely open and honest with me. Avoidance, it's what the two of you seem to practice a lot around me.

And you know what? That hurts, that hurts a lot. To know that my friends don't fully trust me. It hurts even more to know _you_ don't…. never mind. Anyway, the point is, whatever I learn about my friends is something that stays between us.

You know the whole reason I took this whole thing more seriously than was necessary was because I saw it as a chance to spend more time with you, to _really_ get to know you."

"What are you talking about?" interjected Clark confused. "You know me."

"No Clark, no I really don't know you. Yes, we hang out, talk about our day, the things we did, or are going to do, but not much more than that. You've never shared your dreams with me, your future plans, and you have especially not shared your past with me. I know I'm probably not explaining myself well but ultimately it feels like to me that I don't really know the real you. It always feels like there's part of you that you're holding back."

Chloe's eyes pleaded with Clark trying to get him to understand her. In some ways she didn't understand herself the feelings she had where he was involved. All she knew for certain was that their friendship felt hollow even on the best of days.

Clark shook his head turning away from her to look out the window of the loft. Chloe stared at his back waiting for him to say something. Finally after some time he turned back towards her.

"Chloe, I don't know what it is you think you know but I'm not hiding any secrets. What you see is what you get with me. I'm just Clark Kent, an adopted Kansas farm boy. There's nothing I'm hiding from you. I'll admit that you being a reporter makes me reluctant to share things with you. I mean I don't want my personal business as some _Torch_ article.

It's just you never seem to be able to separate between what's public and what should stay private. Like I said your tenacity often seems to get in the way of what's right. I'm sorry but that's just how I feel."

Chloe could only feel disappointment well up inside her at Clark's words. Inwardly she sighed. Why couldn't things go back to the way they were before her accident? It was so much simpler when she didn't completely examine herself or her relationships.

She shook her head giving Clark a sad smile. "I'm sorry you feel that way too."

"Chloe?" asked Clark in a questioning tone.

"I think maybe we shouldn't hang out for a bit. I need to work some things out, like our friendship. And…so do you." With that Chloe turned to leave trying to fight the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

"Chloe! Wait! I don't want us to stop being friends!" said Clark a little desperately.

Chloe stopped turned at the top of the stairs. "I don't want that either. But it'd just be best if we have some time apart, to see where we really stand with each other. I'll see you around Clark."

Chloe left ignoring the tears rolling down her face and refusing to look back.

* * *

Despite her intentions to mend things with Clark, it just didn't turn out that way. In some ways the rift between them had only grown.

In the end she had decided that they needed some space to figure their relationship out. If this had happened a few weeks ago she would have been rushing to make amends with Clark, even taking all the blame. As it was she just didn't feel like doing that anymore. Not to mention she had her own personal problems to worry about.

One in particular was starting to freak her out just a bit.

She would be doing some task or other that usually frustrated her, like homework, or research for a story, or even trying to ferret out the solution to some problem she was having.

Don't get her wrong. She usually figured out what the problem was and solved it if it was in her power to do so. However now, just before her frustration could well and truly sink in she'd get what she would call a gut feeling.

Like her instincts, her mind would poke at her to follow where the feeling led. Chloe had always been an instinctual creature. It's what had made her such a great reporter. Her instincts had never lead her wrong as far as doing digging for dirt on a story was concerned. Social graces were another matter however.

Still, that feeling would bubble up in her, almost irresistible sometimes and she would obediently follow it to its conclusion.

The first few times she noticed it happening she didn't dwell too much on it. Like how she could process information at a much faster rate than she ever had in her life, or how the rate of procession was only getting shorter. She could read books or information that would have, should have, taken her hours or days to complete and comprehend. Now it could be observed and comprehended in just a few hours or even minutes.

Research had started becoming less of a hassle filled thrill and more of an easy one. The hours upon hours it would usually take her to get information or the number of people she would have to ask to get it had significantly decreased. The only thing stopping her these days was information filed at a physical location and wasn't readily available online. With her computer at her fingertips she just suddenly _knew_ where to get the information from, how to get it, how to cover her tracks and even more importantly, how best to use the information.

Yet, the latter hadn't been implemented as much as the former, but that was mostly due to Clark Kent's self-righteousness.

This was part of the reason why things had become so rocky with Clark. It was like her eyes had been closed for the past two and a half years and now they were wide open. Why did it feel like she had been asleep for a long time?

The Kent's were a lot of things, but apparently weren't all they seemed to be on the surface. They were hiding something, and if that wasn't apparent to her before it certainly was now. What it was she didn't know, but was sure she would eventually find out.

And honestly she wouldn't even really have to snoop to do it. After getting her suspicions of them confirmed from their reactions to just her light probing, she wondered how it wasn't until now she realized that the Kent's were terrible liars. How they could keep a secret at all when they made it so obvious they were hiding something baffled her. She assumed their genuine kindness stopped people from looking too far into things.

Really the thing that annoyed her the most was Clark's constant denial that he was hiding anything. The way he always dodged her questions about his unexplained behavior. It was two things that really pissed her off: he wouldn't admit there was a secret he simply couldn't tell her about, and he didn't trust her enough to share it with her or even acknowledge that there was a part of himself he hid.

Despite her frustrations, the situation with Clark had gotten her thinking about a lot of things. Namely her own budding secret and what she planned to do about it.

Chloe knew telling Clark was definitely out of the question. She wouldn't put herself out there hoping he would reciprocate only to get burned. She'd done that quite enough with him, thank you very much. Telling Pete was also unlikely since he could often times be very judgmental, not to mention his general disdain for meteor freaks.

Chloe had barely managed to hold in the mixture of sobs and laughter that bubbled up within her when the realization finally struck.

She was a meteor freak.

She was now the very thing she displayed on the Wall of Weird and wrote about without a care for others feelings in the _Torch_.

She couldn't help but feel ashamed of her actions. It was amazing how your whole, once orderly, world could change so quickly. Chloe Sullivan, resident weird girl and editor of the _Torch_ was now a meteor freak.

* * *

It took her a couple of days to come to terms with the fact. She would've been surprised by her own rapid acceptance if she hadn't known herself better. Being a truth seeker had, contrary to popular belief, made it easier for her to realize her own personal truths. She wasn't in the habit of lying to herself or shying away from the negative aspects of her personality. You could say she was just as critical of herself as she was of others.

Yet, with her acceptance out of the way there came the question of what she should do next? Her immediate answer? Test out the limits of her ability.

Chloe had decided first to see how well she could absorb and process the information she learned by spending an entire day at the library reading as many big and difficult books as she could find. After that she would try and recall what she read and whether she understood the information she'd absorbed.

To her utter amazement she was able to not only recall verbatim what she had read, but she could also understand and explain it without any trouble. Even math, her least favorite subject, was now extremely easy to comprehend. She no longer had to even study hard to ace her tests!

However, her ability extended beyond just the mental aspects. It was like the knowledge and ability to perform anything in the world was open to her!

Chloe could literally feel when something was broken, and get what felt like a mental instruction manual on just how to fix it; though she had yet to follow that particular feeling through to its conclusion for fear she was wrong and would mess things up.

When Chloe saw someone doing something she wished she could, she could feel her body compelling her to try it. Whispering that she would succeed despite never having tried it before. There was a frightening assurance in her mind of success that hadn't been there before. At least not that strongly.

She'd tested it out once when she saw a group of kids skateboarding. It was something she had always wanted to try but was unsure about. Chloe had watched them skateboard almost an hour before feeling confident enough to approach them.

When she did, she had simply asked if she could try out one of their skateboards since she was interested in the sport and wanted to see if she would enjoy it. She had seen their hidden smirks as one of the boys volunteered his. They were anticipating her swift failure the moment she set her foot on the board. Chloe had been inwardly agreeing with them until she actually attempted to ride the skateboard.

It was exhilarating! With little effort on her part, she was able to quickly find her balance and ride around on the board all on her first try. She even attempted and succeeded in pulling off the few tricks she'd seen them perform while watching them. All of it done for the first time with little to no effort. She'd never felt so accomplished or powerful.

Yet, it was the social aspects of the ability that truly unnerved her. It was like she knew exactly what to do to get the right responses from people. She could tell when others were lying, withholding the truth or being completely truth. She had already had a bit of a radar before but the one she had now was ten times better. Reading people and their intentions had become effortless.

She knew exactly what to say and what not to say to get someone to do what she wanted or have them respond to her questions in the correct way. It was like she had been downloaded with a manual on the human psyche. It was all so clear!

Though Chloe couldn't help but feel uneasy at how simple it was suddenly becoming to manipulate people. She'd started making it somewhat of a habit to studiously ignore the social cues her mind gave her. She really didn't want to turn into a manipulative person, especially not with her friends, that wasn't her.

Plus, she felt sick at the thought of becoming like many of the meteor infected she had run into that used their abilities for their own personal gain.

Still, though she had discovered the boundaries of her ability she was ultimately left with one question. What was she going to do with it? Should she do anything with it?

* * *

 **A/N:** Here's the second chapter! Hoped you enjoyed it. Please remember to review, like and fav if you want more.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I do not own Smallville.**

Rating is subject to change.

* * *

Chapter Three

In order to sort out the changes in her life Chloe took a week long break from school. It was pretty easy to convince her father to go along with it since he was perpetually busy running the plant and he knew she wasn't one for skipping school, especially not at the expense of the _Torch._ However, she got the distinct impression, no matter how impossible it was, that he knew exactly what was going on with her.

During that week she reevaluated a lot of things in her life, particularly her relationships and plans for the future.

Chloe already knew who she was, what she valued and what lines she was willing to cross. The time she'd spent exploring her ability had cemented that. Yet, the two things she was unsure about were her relationship with everyone but her father, and what the future held in store for her now. What had once seemed so certain was now anything but.

She was a reporter at heart. Chloe knew this without a doubt. But did that mean she should pursue a career as one?

After all, she wasn't so much a reporter as she was someone who sought out the truth and was willing do just about whatever it took to find it out, and bring her findings to the masses, if possible. But, she didn't _have_ to be a reporter to do that, though it just seemed like the most logical avenue all things considered.

Her choice of career had somewhere along the way negatively impacted her search for the truth.

Sure she informed the masses about all the weird happenings in Smallville including the theory that the meteor shower was responsible for it all. Of course, the meteor shower being the cause was obvious since the majority of all the weirdness occurred soon after it. The green meteor rocks were almost always connected in some way to the events.

Nonetheless, what she had was just a theory. A theory that she couldn't readily prove except through a pattern, albeit an obvious one, but a couple of connections didn't prove anything.

She could more readily see now why Principal Kwan had almost shut down the Torch, besides for his own personal reasons.

Putting forth theories were all well and good but eventually you had to present some proof that lent credence to them.

She had yet to do that which was something she really needed to change.

In light of her recently acquired abilities, it would be easier for her to study and understand the meteor rocks. Eventually, she'd need to set up a laboratory and get funding for some equipment but for right now she could do a preliminary study of the meteor rocks. After all, the damn rocks were practically everywhere.

Honestly, it was baffling that the entire town wasn't infected. Though for all she knew they just might all be. If the incident with Greg Arkin was anything to go by the entire ecosystem of Smallville was infected.

And if the ecosystem was infected then that meant so were the surrounding areas considering how animals and insects migrated, not to mention the runoff from the dam and rivers that flowed throughout Smallville and went to other areas across the state.

How was it that there weren't a plethora of weird incidents happening all over the state?

The bigger question though, was how the EPA had missed exactly how dangerous the rocks are to human beings. If they had known, they would have cleared the entire town of them or at least declared Smallville uninhabitable. She'd held up a Geiger counter to those things, they were clearly radioactive.

Chloe had turned the question around over and over in her head, when suddenly it hit her like a brick to the head. How had she been so naïve?

Testing for radiation was one of the first things the EPA did when clearing an area. Which could only mean one thing. They knew. They knew but for some reason they weren't doing anything about. And there could be only one definite reason for this.

Smallville was a testing ground. A testing ground that no doubt had to be sanctioned by the government.

The town could blame Lionel Luthor for their troubles all they wanted but he wasn't more powerful than the government. At least she hoped not.

Yet, only the government could allow for the things that went on, in and around Smallville, to continue. It made so much sense, especially when you considered the now public and rising concern over the mutant and metahuman populations in the United States, and around the world.

There was no way they wouldn't be on the lookout for such things. A place where every other month some guy or gal went crazy with an ability that couldn't be explained away as a normal human quirk.

She'd first thought after moving to Smallville that they simply had a higher than normal mutant or metahuman population. At worst, they had an unchecked supernatural population. But as those green rocks kept showing up all over the place, along with the general unknown variable that any substance from space posed, she'd revised that opinion. Not to mention the fact that the weirdness wasn't limited to just people. The mutant gene only affected individuals on a molecular level, not the environment.

There had to be some reason the government wasn't swarming all over this place, locking it down into some kind of quarantine.

She personally doubted the government would go to such lengths to warn people about the dangers the meteors posed, and ask that people report any suspicious activity that might be linked to mutants. Enough things already existed that could be used to inspire fear.

Yet, at the same time she had no doubt that Lionel Luthor was in on the project and more than likely had some signed government contracts. Who better to help with testing than an unscrupulous business man more than willing to do anything for a profit? It made better sense as to why LuthorCorp had such a huge influence in a town that should have been below Luthor's interest.

Also, add to the fact there were a lot of pharmaceutical companies who had set up shop in and around Smallville since the meteor shower, and often boasted of using the meteor rocks in their new experimental drugs; her theory seemed more and more plausible.

Still, how had she and the townspeople missed those connections?

Well…she knew why the people who grew up in Smallville didn't.

The inhabitants of the town had willful ignorance down pat. They and the people of Metropolis were way more alike than either would ever admit. Chloe had dubbed it as the Metropolis syndrome when she had been living there, and now it was the Smallville syndrome. It was the way people only opened their eyes to acknowledge a problem when it was practically knocking down their door, and sometimes not even then.

Chloe knew she'd need to do a lot more digging to get solid proof but that wouldn't really take too much time. Though while confident in her newfound abilities she wouldn't allow herself to get reckless.

If what she believed was true, to get proof she would have to hack into government servers, possibly even government facilities. The type of things where mistakes couldn't be made. Frankly, she didn't have the power to take on the government singlehandedly even with her powers.

The first thing she would need to do is gather more research on the meteor rocks, then studiously improve her hacking skills to a very fine point, and work on her stealth and fighting skills. But most importantly she would need to find a suitable partner. Someone who not only believed her theories but was also willing to watch her back.

Unfortunately, that meant she would have to scale back the time and effort she put into the Torch. No doubt unlocking the secrets of the meteor rocks would be time consuming, and if what she expected was true, there was no telling who was reading her paper and taking the things she wrote seriously. Maybe she was being paranoid and thought too highly of herself but better to be safe than sorry.

Speaking of safety, she should probably take down the Wall of Weird. It would help take suspicion off of her for the less than illegal things she'd be getting up to. If people thought she'd lost interest they'd be less likely to look too closely at anything she was doing.

Plus the wall practically screamed to anyone like her that they were a freak to be put under the spotlight and studied. She could now understand why some people almost seemed to become wary or annoyed when looking at it. They were probably conscious of the fact that they were the very freaks she was looking for and wouldn't hesitate to place on her wall.

Yet, their fears were really unwarranted. The only meteor infected individuals she'd displayed on the wall were those who had proven to be dangerous to others and were locked up for their crimes. Everything else on the wall was about numerously bizarre events that occurred in Smallville.

She'd never once outed anyone she suspected of having an ability.

Although she did have some idea of exactly who those people were at school that had abilities, she kept personal files and observations of them handwritten and coded in a journal. A journal which she kept on her person at all times, except when home, where she would hide in a secure place. Information like that could be harmful if it fell into the wrong hands.

Chloe wouldn't stop researching people with abilities however. Knowing who did what was great information to have in a crisis. Plus, she'd gone too far to stop now. The whole goal of identifying them was to try and ferret out the most dangerous ones. But, she could make sure the information she had didn't harm the innocent.

She would need to up the complexity of the code she'd made to make absolutely sure no one but her would know anything about it.

* * *

During the rest of the week Chloe began putting her plans into motion.

The first thing she did was stop by the school and remove any sensitive files she had on the computers in the Torch. She put everything on protected disks and made sure to destroy all traces on the computers, even resorting to wiping the hard drives clean and replacing whatever files were taken off. All the knowledge she had acquired from both self-study and better hackers than herself had taught her how to erase even the ghost back-ups that any master hacker could find.

She had been tempted to start taking down the Wall of Weird but considering she had snuck on campus to retrieve the files it was best to cut her loses and retreat before she was caught. She would take down the wall when she resumed classes.

The next thing she did was find a solution to her funding issue. After spending days browsing forums known only to hackers and sending out a few untraceable (or nearly) emails, she had found an effective though highly illegal cash cow. She could now make loads of money without doing a thing except making sure her ass was covered if her actions were discovered.

Essentially she'd made herself an online offshore bank account under an assumed name, untraceable, that every hour on the hour took 1 cent from 100,000 different bank accounts all across the globe. The bank accounts used changed daily. Chloe was basically making $1,000 an hour which accumulated to her making $24,000 per day.

The method was mostly foolproof as only someone OCD or extremely critical of their bank statements would notice losing a measly twenty-four cents. The withdrawal wouldn't register in their bank statements and even if they noticed, it would be nothing for the bank to reimburse them for it. However, she wouldn't be labeled as the culprit and it would just be seen as a computer error.

Accessing the money was as easy as getting a friend of hers to create a credit card that linked to the account with the necessary account number and security code, and making it look like it came straight from the bank itself. Most important of all was that the card was accepted at any store in the United States.

She had already used the account to purchase a new laptop and desktop, managing to somewhat convince her father that one was a gift from uncle Sam and the other she'd won in a school drawing. The others things she'd bought with the money fell into the third step of her planning.

After deciding to study the meteor rocks Chloe knew she would need certain equipment for the job.

So, she'd bought a Geiger counter, a pair of lead gloves, several specialized microscopes, and all the standard equipment found in any research lab fit for an Ivy League university. It had taken several days for her fake account to accumulate enough money to make all of her purchases.

She'd also had to painstakingly hide all the equipment from her father so he wouldn't become suspicious. Luckily for her she had dibs on the basement as her own private space, usually where she developed photos. Her father rarely went down there.

Setting up the lab to her liking took weeks of exhausting labor but the finished product was well worth the effort.

Considering lead worked well against earthly radiation Chloe figured it would do just the same with radiated meteors. Purchasing the Geiger counter followed the same logic, and it did help her occasionally find meteor rocks. However, after finding a few she managed to calibrate the counter to the point that it only picked up the radiation frequency emitted by the meteor rocks.

So far her research was going slowly. Though she wasn't too bummed about that fact. There would be no fun in life if everything was too easy. Not to mention it was a relief to know her ability had limits. She was actually excited to see how long it would take her to unravel the secrets of the meteor rocks.

Chloe got a major breakthrough on her research near the end of the week. And it was all thanks to a deadly flower called the Nicodemus.

It had all apparently started when Jonathan Kent decided to take a walk on the wild side. Of course wild for him was drinking during the day, making out in front of Clark with Mrs. Kent and mouthing off to Lex. Not exactly as wild as some of the things she could come up with but out of character behavior for Mr. Kent nonetheless.

Making the intuitive leap that his strange behavior and subsequent collapse might have had something to do with the car crash his father was involved in earlier in the day, Clark had enlisted her and for some reason Lana's help to search the scene.

The logical part of her knew Clark was asking for her help because it was a life and death situation and he appeared to trust in her ability to solve a mystery. The illogical part of Chloe couldn't help but be annoyed by him all but demanding her help.

Their relationship had essentially devolved to give and take, with a lot of taking and little giving on Clark's part. At least it always seemed lately he only came to see her when he needed something, and always seemed to forget when she needed him to do something for her.

It was one of the things they needed to sort out. His assumption that she should drop whatever she was doing to help him with his problems. This wouldn't be so much of a problem too, if he actually _politely_ asked rather than _demanded_.

She couldn't remember the last time he asked, "Chloe could you _please_ research something for me? Or said, "Thanks Chloe," after she'd given him the information he needed. While she'd admit that type of behavior had only started recently with him, it was quickly becoming tiresome.

However, with Papa Kent's life on the line she'd put aside her frustrations and help.

Their search that night at first proved to be pointless until Lana started to exhibit the same wild behavior the next day. Chloe could admit to being a little frustrated that she hadn't found anything at the scene when obviously something had been there else Lana wouldn't be infected. She couldn't _and_ wouldn't accept the possibility that Lana had suddenly decided to reveal a hidden side of herself of her own volition.

On the other hand, she was grateful she hadn't run into whatever it was considering the side effects. That would not have meshed well with her newfound ability.

* * *

She eventually found herself visiting Dr. Hamilton at his lab to try and find out why he was at the scene of the crash the same night as they were. Taking a deep breath she entered the ramshackle of a building.

Announcing herself, "Dr. Hamilton, hello, I'm Chloe Sullivan, Smallville _Torch_. We spoke a few times over the Internet about the meteors."

Hamilton didn't miss a beat. "Oh, Chloe," he responded before going back to looking at the papers in front of him while holding a book in his hand. A clear dismissal if there ever was one.

Seeing this Chloe decided to cut straight to the chase. "I was wondering if you could tell me what you were doing out in the woods last night?" She dug into her bag taking out the photo with him in it. She wouldn't let him get away with denying he wasn't even there.

Hamilton sighed as he picked up the picture. Seeming to refrain from rolling his eyes he responded, "What I usually do there most nights. Looking for meteor samples. I find them easier to look for at night with a flashlight."

She could sense he wasn't being completely truthful despite his relaxed behavior. Also, even if the rocks did have an eerie glow, who the hell looked for rocks in the dark instead of perfectly good sunlight? "So you didn't see me and my friend?" asked Chloe.

She let her eyes roam around the lab using her keen observational skills to try and find anything that would be useful. Aside from the tank in the corner with what seemed like turtles and some equipment covered with tarps, she noticed that there were an awful lot of plants around.

However, the thing she most noticed was that there was a hell of a lot of new equipment. It looked like someone was funding Dr. Hamilton.

"I heard voices, I saw flashlights; I know kids like to party and as I know you know I don't like company." His tone had changed from relaxed to more forceful.

Interesting.

"So you weren't there looking over the accident scene?"

He slammed the book he was holding down in frustration. "What accident?"

Chloe had to refrain from rolling her own eyes. Not a smart move to pretend like he didn't know about the accident. Smallville was in its own words, small. Even someone cooped up like him would have heard about it.

Flicking her eyes down briefly, she saw the name of the book he had been holding. _The Nicodemus Diary_. Well, that was certainly worth looking into.

Deciding she'd gotten all that she could Chloe put on a surprised face, "I must be mistaken. Sorry to have bothered you." Chloe flashed a false smile and began moving toward the exit.

"And what were you doing in the woods last night?" he practically demanded.

Chloe paused, deciding to use Hamilton's own explanation. "Partying, with my friends."

She'd come back later when he was gone and do some snooping. Who knows? He might have already made some decent headway from his study of the meteor rocks. It would certainly make things easier for her with her own studies.

She spent the next three hours researching everything there was on Dr. Hamilton and the Nicodemus flower. Since Pete had tagged along she'd had to slow down how fast she found things, not wanting to make him suspicious.

In the end her suspicions that Dr. Hamilton was involved were confirmed. Along with the startling discovery that it was LuthorCorp or more specifically Lex Luthor who was funding Hamilton's research. Though really she supposed it wasn't that surprising. After all, he had visited the Torch and shown interest in the Wall of Weird and her meteor theory. It wasn't a stretch to think he wouldn't also seek out the scientist she mentioned to him and see what they made of things.

Despite his 'social flaw' Hamilton had been, still was really, a brilliant scientist.

However, she kept that bit of information to herself when she relayed everything she had found to Pete and Clark. Chloe had no doubt they would jump to conclusions and stick with them instead of thinking things through. They'd assume the worse, go confront and accuse Lex, rather than first listening to whatever he had to say with an open mind before jumping to conclusions.

While Chloe didn't know Lex all that well if he was anything like her, he wouldn't respond well to accusations, especially not without hard proof.

Chloe knew she would have to break into Hamilton's lab sooner rather than later after reading _The Nicodemus Diary_ and learning what happened to those infected by it. She might be upset with Clark, but she didn't want anything to happen to Mr. Kent. Plus she adored Mrs. Kent whom she knew was probably out of her mind with worry about her husband.

So a scant four hours after visiting Hamilton she was breaking into his lab with Pete by her side, instructing him on the ways of snooping, and breaking and entering.

Needless to say, her plan totally backfired on her when Pete accidentally got sprayed by the flower. Pete confessing that he was attracted to her was definitely a shock, but nothing could beat him pointing a gun in her face and demanding her car keys.

Luckily, she managed to warn Clark about Pete more than likely going to murder Lex. Clark somehow managed to stop him in time. Even more fortuitous was she was able to take the time she was waiting for someone to pick her up from Hamilton's lab collecting information. And boy, was it interesting.

The little she had been able to skim through while collecting had been for lack of a better word: enlightening.

Of course, Chloe found the next day after reading it all and going back to seek out Hamilton that the lab had been moved. It would have been foolish but helpful to her if he had stayed where anyone could find him. Still, she'd gotten quite enough from him to work with.

She didn't have a lot of time to do a more in-depth analysis of the information she'd gotten since before she knew it she was back at school again.

But her return to school only brought with it more surprises.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you to J and noellesullivan for being my first reviewers and continuing to review. Also, thank you to Asurau, highlander348, aseret91, and whatweareafreaidof.

Highlander348: The thing with Brainiac is where I got the idea to give her this power. Also, I've changed things from her origin. She isn't a meteor freak and the reason why will be revealed. This story could technically be in the crossover section because it will intersect with other universes. I've already given you a hint of one of them.

J: She will reconcile with Clark but as with the Chloe in the show, this one needs time away from Clark to be her own person whose life doesn't revolve heavily around Clark's life. Also, Clark himself needs to grow up, as I believe they held him back a lot in the show in the earlier seasons. I didn't like him in Smallville, at all, not even the later seasons. But, I'm trying to make sure that doesn't affect my writing of his character as he is presented. Lex, I have plans for Lex.

Asurau: All will be revealed in due time.

Whatweareafreaidof: I know, but he wasn't completely right in the way he acted either. Honestly all of this could've been solved if he stepped away from Lana for one hour, like he did to do his report on her, and could have avoided this whole mess, but he never made time for an interview. It's not like she didn't ask him more than once. As he said, there wasn't a lot they had to tell and how hard would it have been to tell some things about himself, editing out the abnormal stuff. He could make time for his friends Lex and Lana but not Chloe? For just an hour?

Thank you for reading everyone. Please remember to read, review, fav and like.


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Smallville, it belongs to its creators.**

 **Rating is subject to change.**

* * *

Chapter Four

Chloe returned to school feeling more confident and determined than ever. The disorderly mess her life had become just two weeks ago was now behind her. She had examined things at all angles, assessed the answers she'd gotten, and found herself satisfied with the results.

Chloe Sullivan was a new woman with a game plan that had already been put into motion in most areas of her life. Now she was about to start doing the same with the school portion of it.

First on the list was to start taking down the Wall of Weird and putting up the Wall of Theory. She even made sure to arrive at school an hour and a half early in order to get the task done before class.

Surprisingly she didn't feel any pangs of sadness at getting rid of what had essentially been her muse for the last two years. Then again, she wasn't really giving up that muse, she was just being more discreet about it.

It took about an hour to clear the wall and pack everything away, and it was weird to see the wall bare except for its new heading. Chloe didn't ponder on that for long since there was work for the _Torch_ to be done.

While a lot had happened during the week she was out, Chloe had made the decision not to write about any of it. Her own involvement in it aside, a lot of things that happened were too personal to talk about. Not to mention the hospital and LuthorCorp had put out a statement "explaining" what had happened to those infected.

There was no need to refute their statements, nor was there anything to add to the story that wouldn't make those involved uncomfortable or angry at certain information becoming public knowledge.

It was for those same reasons that she didn't write about Lex and his involvement in the incident at Club Zero. Even though Lex wasn't really her friend, it didn't change the fact that he was Clark's. Not to mention she was sure he had been emotionally drained by such a terrible blast from the past and more than likely wanted to put the whole thing behind him. Again.

Besides, there was no reason to inform the Smallville public about it, especially when he was trying to prove himself to them. He seemed genuine in his desire to help the town. Printing an article about what had happened last week would only sour his efforts. People in Smallville tended to be very close minded despite what they proclaimed.

Speaking of which, she hadn't emailed Lex yet to set up a date to continue their interview.

Chloe distantly registered the increasing sound of voices in the hallways indicating classes would be starting soon. Opening her email she started a new letter and searched for Lex's address. Finding and entering it into the appropriate box she soon contemplated how she should address the interview.

It had been two weeks after all and neither she, nor he, had been in contact with one another. Her fingers tapped against the desk as she tried to come up with the right words to say. Glancing at the clock she saw class would start in about thirty minutes. Considering she had skipped breakfast and would need to get something from the cafeteria she had to make this quick.

Finally coming to a decision she typed: _So, we didn't get to finish our interview, for obvious reasons. Are you up for another round of verbal judo? Please let me know. –Chloe_

Satisfied with what she had written she sent the message. Closing down the computer Chloe grabbed her purse and book bag, and closed the Torch's doors behind her as she took off for a filling but underwhelming breakfast.

Sufficiently nourished Chloe returned to the Torch with fifteen minutes left before classes and tried to figure out what to fill a blank space on the paper's front page with. She was full of ideas but none of them seemed to be particularly eye catching.

Letting out a sigh of frustration she checked her email hoping to find some inspiration. Instead she got an annoying pop-up asking her to take a poll. Annoyed, she was just about to click out of it when the proverbial light bulb went off in her head. It was perfect. After all, Kwan had said she needed to get more in touch with what the students at Smallville were thinking about.

She could do a student wide poll. A poll on what, Chloe wasn't sure, but it was the best idea she'd come up with for now. Smiling, now that she had a topic Chloe clicked out of the pop-up and was surprised to see she already had a reply from Lex, and a new email from Justin Gaines.

Reminding herself to read and answer Justin's later, she clicked on Lex's to see his response.

 _Hello to you too Chloe._

 _Yes, it's a shame we didn't get to finish the interview, and my apologies again for how things went that day. Of course, I'm ready for another round. A Luthor is ready for anything. How does Friday at 4:00pm a week from now sound?_

 _I look forward to testing your skills. –Lex Luthor_

Chloe shook her head with a smile. So, Lex Luthor was ready for anything? She'd see about that. Chloe wrote a response accepting the date and time before shutting down the computer and heading to class.

As she left, she suddenly had an idea for what the poll would be about. What skill were you most confident about within yourself?

It wouldn't get a lot of truthful answers but the responses would be interesting enough.

* * *

The success of the poll and securing the date of her second interview with Lex had Chloe on a high for most of the day. It was temporarily brought down the couple of times she awkwardly interacted with Clark, and the one brief moment where she had to put up with his pining after Lana.

Interestingly enough, she got to meet a kid named Ryan that the Kent's were temporarily fostering. Clark had politely asked her to take some pictures of Ryan and see if she could find out anything out about him and his parents.

Ryan was an alright kid but Chloe got the distinct impression he wasn't being truthful about his amnesia. He'd been quite fidgety at the mention of her looking into his past, almost as if he didn't want to be found. But that was a problem for the Kent's to work out with Ryan. She had quite enough on her plate as it was. Though Chloe could swear the kid was psychic or something. Some of the things he just happened to know….

Chloe was surprised and more than a little suspicious at how relieved Clark looked when he saw she'd taken down the Wall of Weird. Good thing Clark was crap at hiding his emotions or he would have known better than to show such an emotion. It only increased her curiosity about him and whatever it was he was hiding.

Unfortunately, she didn't have Pete to talk to since he was out of town attending his grandmother's funeral. While things with her and Clark had broken down, her relationship with Pete was still pretty solid. Though that didn't mean she had completely ignored the problems their relationship had either. She had just come to the decision to gradually work on them.

Part of her was glad for their time apart. While Pete didn't remember any of it, she was now painfully aware of him making his feelings for her known. Sadly, it really spoke to what a mess their friendship was that she had a crush on Clark and Pete had one on her with neither having been aware of the other's feelings. At least it wasn't even more awkward with Clark having a crush on Pete.

 _Please for the love of God don't let that come true_. Chloe didn't think she could take it.

Crushes aside, one thing Chloe had noticed throughout the day during her classes was that everything was well…easy. Ridiculously easy to be exact. Even the subjects she usually had to put more effort into than usual seemed to pose little challenge now.

While that was great, even incredible in some ways, in other ways the idea that her current schooling was no longer informative or a challenge of any kind both frightened and disappointed her.

Would things be like this from now on? Would learning new things now lose its challenge, thus making the pursuit of knowledge meaningless? After all, if there was no challenge to gaining new knowledge, what was the point?

Chloe gained enjoyment from the pursuit of knowledge more than anything. Yes, she gained satisfaction from solving a mystery or acquiring all the facts about something. However, nothing could beat having her feet to the ground searching for the truth, navigating whatever trials were thrown in her way.

If that thrill was gone from her life, what would she do?

Chloe sincerely hoped it was just a case of the public school system being severely lacking.

Briefly pushing her disturbing worry aside Chloe focused on finishing the article about the poll. Once she was done with that she would stop by the Talon, grab a cappuccino, go home, and prepare to have an _interesting_ conversation with her dad.

She figured it was about time she came clean about what was happening to her. Chloe was more than aware that her dad was on to her weirder than normal behavior. The only reason he hadn't approached her yet about it was that he was more than likely waiting for her to come clean.

The only times he'd relinquished his admittedly godlike patience was when she was doing something particularly destructive and harmful, not just to herself but to others.

Chloe was definitely not looking forward to the conversation ahead.

Part of her was afraid her father would look at her different, or worse outright reject her. It was a silly notion she knew. Gabe Sullivan had more than proven he would stand by his daughter no matter what. She'd not doubted his love for her since her mom had left them. And really that was only because she was afraid he'd leave her too.

Logically she knew where this fear was coming from, but she still couldn't manage to banish her fears to the deep dank pit where she usually dumped feelings of uncertainty and doubt.

Not for the first time she cursed her mother for being so selfish.

* * *

When Chloe arrived home she found that her father was already there. The moment she entered the house she was welcomed by the delicious smell of dinner cooking.

She could just barely make out the sound of her father's humming over music. Great, that meant he was in a good mood. That would definitely make explaining things a little easier. Though she had to wonder exactly what had put him in such a mood.

"Dad! I'm home!" yelled Chloe as she closed the door behind her and walked into the living room. Chloe dropped her backpack by the stairs before moving toward the kitchen.

"Hey sweetheart! How was your day?" Gabe asked. Her father was a husky man in his forties with thinning light brown hair, emerald green eyes and a face that seemed to constantly be smiling.

"It was okay. School was boring as ever, but the _Torch_ is doing great. What about you?"

"Things are running smoothly at the plant. We've been turning a profit like never before. It won't be long before we have trouble keeping up with demand. Lex has really proven himself a very capable leader. He's really dedicated to improving things."

"That's great Dad," Chloe remarked, as she walked into the kitchen. She was greeted to the sight of her father donning his signature apron that said, _Grillmaster_ , with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up as he stirred what looked like a pot of green beans.

The kitchen was a bit of a disaster area with flour covering most of the counters and some of the floor, along with an assortment of other ingredients being used to make what she suspected was lasagna.

"I see you're making us quite the feast," Chloe joked.

Gabe turned from tending the pot to flash Chloe a brilliant smile. The exact same smile she'd inherited from him. It, like her own, had the ability to brighten a room and make one briefly forget their worries. She felt privileged in knowing he usually reserved that smile just for her.

"Yup, I figured it had been too long since I'd cooked for us. I thought it would be a great way to help kick the week off right."

"Oh, it definitely will. I love your cooking, especially your lasagna." Chloe blushed as her stomach suddenly growled. Both she and her Dad chuckled. "I guess my stomach concurs."

Her father playfully rolled his eyes. "You'll get no arguments here. Why don't you go upstairs and wash up? Dinner will be ready in about ten more minutes."

"Okay." After planting a quick kiss on his cheek and snatching up her bag, she bounded upstairs to her room.

Chloe deposited the bag on the floor near the bed after retrieving her laptop from it. Placing it on the desk beside her desktop computer she booted up both devices. While waiting for them to warm up she made a quick trip to the bathroom to freshen up.

Returning she found them ready to use. Today would be the beginning of her plan to start hacking into government databases to find out if they had any connections to the happenings in Smallville.

For the last week she'd painstakingly nurtured and polished her skills, and now felt confident enough to start making serious attempts on those databases. The only obstacle to her plans was that the technology she currently owned wasn't up to the task.

Fortunately, she had already ordered the parts needed to build a super computer with enough power to do what she required. Since what she was going to be doing was highly illegal being caught red-handed wasn't an option. Unfortunately that meant she would have to build the damn thing completely from scratch.

She estimated that it would take about three months to get all the parts she needed. Of course, once she had all the parts she would have to assemble them with extreme care lest she have to order the parts again. All in all, she had a massively complicated task ahead of her.

If only she lived in Massachusetts, Chloe thought wistfully, then she could just break into MIT and steal all the parts she needed. She inwardly chuckled at the absurdity of the idea. One would hope such a prestigious institution wouldn't have shoddy security.

Glancing at the clock she saw her ten minutes were up. Sighing, she took the time to take out her journals of notes, ideas, and theories, and place them on her desk before going downstairs.

Stepping into the kitchen she found the table was already set, so she moved to help her father place the dishes on the table but was waved away.

"Relax honey. Have a seat. I've got this."

"You sure? I mean I could grab the…."

Gabe held up a hand cutting her off. "No, I insist. Everything is under control."

Shrugging, "Alright, if you say so." Chloe promptly plopped down onto one of the chairs at the table and waited to be served.

Soon they were both seated and chowing down on a heavenly meal of homemade lasagna, green beans, and garlic bread. They ate in relative silence preferring to fill their stomachs for a bit before engaging in any conversation.

Gabe was the first to break the silence.

"So, anything interesting happen at school?"

Chloe knew her father was subtly fishing for information about her and Clark's currently defunct friendship. He was the first person she'd told about it. Like the great dad he was, he'd listened calmly as she explained things then carefully added his own input. In the end, he'd inadvertently helped cement her decision to put their friendship on hold. She hadn't been completely sure about doing so.

"No. I ran into Clark a few times, but we mostly avoided each other. Pete's out of town so I mostly spent the day by myself."

Gabe nodded. He opened his mouth to speak but seemed to hesitate for a second before continuing. "Have you considered that maybe you should make some more friends sweetheart. I know you're just fine hanging out with the boys but…."

Chloe sighed. "I know Dad. The thought has crossed my mind lately. It's just a matter of finding someone I'll mesh well with."

"Of course. But I'm confident you'll find a friend soon enough. You have a great personality Chloe. And I'm not just saying that because I'm your father," he said with a mirthful grin.

Chloe smiled while rolling her eyes. "Of course not. As my father you are totally unbiased in all things concerning me."

They couldn't help but chuckle at that. Her father's tendency to brag about her was well known not only at the plant but all around Smallville.

"Okay, so maybe I'm a _little_ biased." Chloe gave her father a disbelieving look. "Okay, okay, a lot biased, but you're my beautiful, talented, and wonderful daughter. Sue me for being biased about that."

Chloe couldn't help the wide grin that stretched across her face or the warmth that filled her chest. This was just one of many reasons why she loved her father. He always made her feel special.

"Thanks Dad."

"Anytime sweetheart."

Chloe's grin began to fade as she wondered how she could go about gently telling her father what was happening to her. Maybe if she broached another subject, then lead into it?

"Chloe? Are you alright?" Chloe looked up to see a worried look on her father's face. "Is everything okay? It looks like there's something pretty heavy on your mind?"

Chloe opened her mouth but hesitated, unsure of what to say. _Come on, Sullivan. This shouldn't be so hard. This is Dad we're talking about. The one person we can always trust, and who loves us unconditionally._

With those thoughts in mind, Chloe shook her head clearing it of her doubts. Taking a deep breath she threw caution to the wind and said what first came to mind. "Dad. I was thinking…I was thinking about taking up martial arts again. Not so much competitively, at least not right now, but as a hobby you know? Would…would that be alright with you?"

She hadn't practiced martial arts in years. Not since she'd taken her anger out on a fellow classmate; nearly beating the poor kid to death. Chloe barely repressed a shudder as she remembered the blood and how blinded by rage she had been. He had kept picking and picking at her until she'd had enough. It had definitely been one of the lowest points in her life.

Chloe apprehensively watched as several emotions seemed to quickly flash across her father's face. Shock, surprise, curiosity, and oddly enough, though she couldn't fathom why, a little bit of fear. Eventually her father's expression settled into a neutral mask.

Seeing this made her panic slightly, so she tried to backtrack. "I mean, it's not that important. I just wanted to change things up a bit, but if that's not alright then I'll find something else. There are plenty of other hobbies I can pick up. Yeah, I'll just do…."

"Chloe," called her father in a calm but commanding tone effectively cutting through her rambling.

Chloe's mouth snapped shut as she gave her father her full attention. She watched as he seemed to gather himself together with a resigned look on his face.

It couldn't be that big of a deal now, right? Could it? I mean, she'd gone through therapy and everything. She wouldn't lose control like she had before. She wouldn't let herself go that far again. Never again.

Gabe stared down silently at his plate for a moment. When he finally looked up there was serious look on his face. "Sweetheart, I think we need to talk."

His words only put her more on edge than before. "What? What do we need to talk about? Dad?" Chloe couldn't help the note of desperation that had suddenly crept into her voice, but her dad was seriously freaking her out right now with the vibes he was currently giving off.

His face was now a blank mask, unreadable even to her new senses. She almost thought he hadn't heard her until, "Let's clean up here first, then we can discuss things properly in the living room." He stood up and began clearing the table off.

Though seriously disturbed by her father's behavior she followed his instructions and helped him clean up.

Ten minutes later they were both seated in the living room on the couch. Chloe on one end and her father on the other facing each other.

Chloe fidgeted nervously with the hem of her shirt. "So…what is it we need to talk about?"

Her father remained silent seeming to be staring at her but really it appeared he was looking through her. There was a strange look on his face giving the impression he was a thousand miles away.

"Dad?" Chloe called uncertainly.

That seemed to snap Gabe out of his trance as his eyes came to focus on her. Gabe frowned, rubbing his temples as he tried to figure out a way to start. "Chloe. Do you remember when…when your mom left us?"

Chloe's brows furrowed. "Um, yeah. Of course. How could I forget?" Why was he was bringing this up right now? They hadn't talked about her mother in quite some time. What did it have to do with what he wanted to talk about? Chloe felt her stomach twist in a knot as a sudden thought occurred to her. Had her mother contacted him recently? Was she, god forbid, coming to pay them a visit after all these years?

Gabe nodded, missing Chloe's unease, too caught up in his own thoughts. "It was a hard time for us. I know I don't have to tell you that, but it's important. I…you…" he paused for a moment.

Looking down at his hands, "After she left, you and I made a promise. We promised to always be honest with each other whether that was with how we were feeling or when something was going on in our lives that was bothering us. And," he looked up into Chloe's eyes, "I'm ashamed to say I haven't been completely honest with you like I should've been."

"Dad? It can't be that bad right?" Chloe asked shifting nervously in her seat. Maybe this wasn't about what she had thought it would be about. Although—a confession of what seemed like guilt from her father was more than unexpected. But it couldn't be that bad—could it? The knot of unease she'd felt earlier began to evolved into a pit that weighed heavily in her stomach.

"Do you remember when we took those trips around the world? You know, as part of your therapy?" her father asked suddenly.

Chloe was momentarily confused by his question. Of course, she remembered those trips. They had practically strengthened her relationship with her father beyond what she thought was possible. But why was asking questions like these out of the blue? What was he trying to get at?

"And you remember how I talked about my childhood, my family, and where I grew up? And…how I met your mother? How we got married?"

"Yeah, Dad, how could I forget? But. Where are you going with this? What does this have to do with mom?"

Gabe sighed, "Look I know I'm not making any sense right now but just bear with me. Okay? I'm getting to the point."

Not sure what else to say, she simply nodded. Chloe was amused to see her father was the one rambling this time and not her. Maybe if she just let him talk things out instead of interrupting it might make things easier for him.

Relief flashed across Gabe's face briefly only to morph into uncertainty. "Right, well, I might have left out some important details when telling you those stories." Glancing down at his hands, he clasped them together squeezing tightly. After taking a deep breath and releasing it, Gabe unwound his fingers. Finally, he looked back up at her with all traces of uncertainty gone from his face. In its place was a look of steely determination.

Chloe had never quite seen that look on his face before. It actually sent shivers down her spine and caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up in warning. Even more unsettling were the warning bells going off in her head courtesy of her ability.

"What I didn't tell you was how special my family, our family, really is. You see, we have a certain quirk in our DNA. Every single person in our family is born with it, though not everyone reaps its benefits. What I'm talking about is something you're likely very familiar with: the mutant gene. Or as some of our more arrogant counterparts like to call it, the next step in evolution."

Chloe could only stare dumbly at her father at this revelation. Well, she supposed it was nice to be proven right about how she thought she'd acquired her powers. On the other hand, she had never for a second contemplated that it was a hereditary trait; simply assuming she was the first mutant in her family. Chloe tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind.

"My family wasn't really concerned about things like that. We just wanted to live our lives without worry of people finding out we were different, and sending a lynch mob after us, or worse. For a long time we were safe, nestled in a little town my parents had picked out to raise a family."

He swallowed hard as he recalled numerous childhood memories. "The gene came from my father's, your grandfather's, side of the family. Jacob Henderson had a power called thermal manipulation, while his wife, my mother, Allison, had regenerative healing. Their children, my siblings, were all blessed with an ability. Charles had the same power as your grandfather, Brenda, telekinesis and telepathy, and Howard had biological manipulation."

"Wait—did you say Henderson? Sullivan isn't your real last name?"

"No, but that's a story for another time. Now about my sibling's abilities—"

"And what ability do you have?" Chloe blurted out before she could stop herself. She hadn't forgot about the last name thing though, she would definitely be bringing it up again. Most likely when her father was least expecting it.

A grimace crossed Gabe's face. He really wished this conversation never had come up, but that was life for you. Being forced to do things you didn't want to, or having to force others. "Persuasion, both tactile and verbal," he said calmly.

Huh. Of all the abilities she could imagine her father having, persuasion wasn't one of them. Honestly she had thought they would have the same ability. Speaking of… "You have the same ability as Kyle Tippet," she thought aloud.

"Yes, though he has to touch his target in order for it to work. I simply have to tell them what I want them to do." Seeing Chloe's raised brow he explained, "I crossed paths with him and Bob Rickman almost a decade ago. It was an interesting experience to come across two people who had the same ability as I did."

Gabe reminisced with a grin, only for it to droop into a frown. "It's a shame what happened to Kyle though. Choosing to hide away from the world because of his ability had to be a hard thing to do. Then again, better that than becoming the monster Bob turned into. A monster it's so easy to become," he finished in a whisper.

His last words raised an uncomfortable question. "Do…Do you use your ability often? Or…?" she trailed off dreading his answer.

Gabe shook his head, "I haven't used it in years." His hands balled into fists as a look of shame colored his features. "I did so much wrong that I can't make up for with it. I promised myself I would never use my ability to hurt anyone again, if I could help it. So far I've been able to keep that promise."

A frown marred Chloe's face as she tried to decipher what he meant. "What do you mean? Who did you hurt? Was it really that bad?"

"No," said Gabe, shaking his head. "Now isn't the time for that. Another time, maybe. It's not what I wanted to tell you anyway."

"But—"

"Anyway," cut in Gabe loudly, "There was also my little brother, Richard. His ability was called intuitive aptitude. It was a very unique ability, special, known to show up only to those in our family. He was a lot like you, you know. Looking at you, I can almost picture what he would have been like had he made it past childhood." Gabe momentarily choked up unable to continue.

Chloe could only feel sadness as she thought of the uncle she'd never get to know and how much his death still clearly affected her father even though it had been decades.

He'd told her some summers ago stories about Richard, his youngest brother, who apparently had been a lot like her.

She watched stricken as her father painfully recalled again, how Richard, convinced he was infallible due to his ability, foolishly jumped into the Mississippi River on a dare thinking he could easily out swim the currents. Barely a minute in and he'd sank like a brick into its depths. At least, that was how his brother's friends who'd witnessed the event said it happened.

Gabe hadn't particularly cared, all he knew was that his baby brother was dead and it was his fault. He was supposed to be watching him that day but had ditched him with his friends to go do his own thing. It was a mistake he'd had to live with the rest of his life.

Deciding to change the subject Chloe asked, "So, you never explained why our family or others get the mutant gene. Do you know why?"

"The Sullivan's come from a long line of mutants. Our bloodline is believed to run as far back as ancient Egypt, though some believe it goes back even farther. If you're interested, I have this huge tome upstairs that was written by one of our relatives a couple decades ago. He painstakingly traced our bloodline all the way back to ancient times."

Chloe just stared at her father in disbelief. "You're joking?"

"I'm afraid not. Like I said, the x-gene is prevalent in our family. You inherited your powers from me. Well, not my particular ability, but having my DNA made its manifestation possible."

A bewildered look crossed Chloe's face. "How do you know I have any powers?" she asked, trying not to panic.

Gabe gave his daughter a patronizing look. "Chloe, please. I know you better than you know yourself. Do you really think I haven't noticed the recent changes in your behavior? Have I ever been unconcerned about what happens to you?"

A blush spread across Chloe's face as she realized the absurdity of her words. Of course, he would notice she had been acting differently. He was the man she both idolized and emulated. The one who paid the most attention to what was going on in her life.

"Okay, so that was a kind of a stupid question. However, you still didn't answer all of my questions. How do you know its powers and not something else?"

"Because you've had your ability since you were a toddler. And, it's the same ability that Richard had. It's an extremely rare ability that only shows up within a few individuals in the family at a time. You happen to be one of those few," he said with a drawn out sigh.

Chloe felt her mouth go dry and her heart start beating a hundred miles a minute. Sweat began gather at her brow as she felt anticipation at finally finding out what this ability she possessed was. "Intuitive aptitude? What is that anyway?"

Her father's expression turned grim once more. There was almost a hesitance in him to speak again before he seemed to gather his resolve with pursed lips.

"Intuitive Aptitude: The power to instantly learn and understand the complexity and exactness of organisms, objects, and more without the need for long-term or special education. Simply put, you have the power to do—pretty much anything."

Chloe was silent as she absorbed his words and turned them over and over in her mind. An ability like that…sounded impossible. Something like that would upset nature's usual balance. Though he did mention it only appeared in their family amongst only a few of their members so that might be the balance that was in place.

Still. The way her father spoke it sounded like she could conceivably do whatever she wanted. It was a startling revelation, not to mention frightening. What would she do with this ability? Should she do anything with it? She'd need to think some more on this later. For now, she would hear whatever else her father had to say.

"Chloe?" Gabe called worriedly. She had been silent for quite a while and it was making him nervous. He knew he was throwing a lot at her at once, but this needed to be done. He had put it off far too long already.

Chloe nodded slowly, her face scrunched up in thought. "Yeah, just give me a bit to process this okay?" Gabe stared at her confounded for a moment before simply nodding. It was several minutes before Chloe spoke again. "So…now that we've sorted that out. You still haven't explained how you knew what my ability was. Also, does everyone in the family really get an ability?"

"No, not everyone gets an ability. Which just so happens to be a source of bitterness in our family. There are many who have cut off all contact because they feel like they were cheated. Though, there are just as many who have abilities and don't associated with those in the family who lack an ability.

The mutant gene usually doesn't activate until puberty. This is usually why those accidents you see on TV caused by mutants are teenagers. The body's already undergoing changes, thus making the process of transformation easier. Though there are exceptions."

"I'm going to go out on a limb and assume I'm an exception. You knew I would possibly be going through this process," Chloe theorized. "Did you guess I would have the ability of someone in my immediate family? Is that how it works?"

"Sometimes. But, you're an exception because you have had your ability since you were a toddler."

And there went any semblance of Chloe trying to keep her cool. "Why didn't you tell me about this before now?" she yelled furious. "If I've actually had this ability almost all my life then why am I only noticing it now?"

To think she'd been worried asking her father about taking up martial arts again. How silly did her previous nervousness seem now?

"Sweetheart? I need you to calm down," Gabe spoke in a placating tone. He spoke calmly and softly as one would a frightened animal.

"Calm down? Calm down! You want me to calm down after you've just dropped this bombshell on me?! Are you kidding me?" Chloe jumped and began pacing trying to burn off some of her anger.

"Chloe," Gabe uttered sternly. "Getting so worked up won't help anything. Listen to me. Please. You're my little girl and I love you. Please give me the chance to explain things. Please."

Chloe was about to retort that she would decide whether getting worked up or not would help, but found some of the fight leaving her at her father's words. Looking at him she could see weariness and earnestness etched onto his face along with a plea in his eyes that she hear him out. She could see his love for her displayed openly like always.

Taking a deep breath to release the tension that had built up within her body, she looked away from her father before turning back to him a little more composed than she had been previously.

"Alright. I'll hear you out."

Gabe breathed in deeply before exhaling long and loud. He ran a hand through his hair. Dropping it back down by his side he gazed at Chloe with a morose expression.

"Before I tell you why I didn't inform you of your ability until now, there are some things we need to discuss."

She really wished he wouldn't drop anymore bombshells tonight. The ones he'd dropped already had left her shell shocked and reeling from the aftermath.

"I know what's been going on Chloe," her father said, giving her a stern look.

Chloe opened her mouth to object, to what she didn't know, but object nonetheless when she was cut off by her father.

"Do you really think I haven't been paying attention? You're my daughter, my only child. It's my mission in life to love, protect and look after your best interests, which includes noticing when you start exhibiting odd behavior. And you've been acting very odd of late."

"Okay, I admit I've been acting odd. I'll give you that, but what more do you know than that?" She wouldn't insult his intelligence by pretending she didn't know what he was talking about. Her plan had been to tell him the truth tonight, after all. Yet, he was talking like he knew everything. It was making her more than a little suspicious. Was he keeping tabs on her?

"Yes, I have been keeping tabs on you. Do you really think with all the trouble you get into that I wouldn't?" he asked at her look of surprise.

Chloe could only smile sheepishly and shrug. Honestly the thought had never crossed her mind.

Gabe simply shook his head. "Well, now you know. You may have thought you were being stealthy but you're not the only person that lives here. I've seen the very expensive purchases you've recently made, and believe me, we'll be having a talk about where you got the money from."

She couldn't help but flinch at the consternation in her father's tone. Chloe knew what she'd done was wrong, just…it was for a worthy cause! It wasn't like she was just using the money to buy frivolous things. It was for research purposes!

Once again, before she could even argue her case, he cut her off. "It isn't up for debate. It doesn't matter how you were using the money if you stole it from honest hardworking people."

Chloe simply sighed, "Right. Sorry."

"What am I going to do with you?" Gabe muttered in exasperation with a wry smile.

* * *

Chloe stared at the ceiling of her room unable to sleep.

It had been almost four hours ago since her father had spilled secrets he'd been keeping from her for years. Some things she'd rather have never known.

But it was too late now. Pandora's Box had been opened and there was no going back.

Once her father had started talking he couldn't stop. From the number of times he'd let something slip or stop mid-sentence only to continue on nonchalantly, Chloe could tell there were still things he wasn't telling her

And while the experience was cathartic for him; it was anything but for her.

She constantly replayed bits and pieces of the conversation in her head over and over again. Out of all the bombshells he'd dropped on her it was only two of them that really stood out in her mind.

The thing that plagued her mind first and foremost was learning the real reason why her mother had abandoned them.

All those years she'd thought it was her fault. All the therapy she'd went through to disabuse her of that notion. How her father would always tell her that the fault lay with him and her mother as to why she'd walked out on them.

Though it really had been her fault. Not intentionally, and she certainly wasn't a deciding factor in what followed but it still hurt nonetheless. It felt like a wound that'd never really closed had been brutally ripped open again, made deeper and impossible to mend.

Her father had admitted that her mother hadn't wanted to be a wife or mother. Something she'd always been vocal about though never where Chloe could hear. They'd dated happily for over a year with vague plans for the future until her mother had gotten her pregnant.

Her father who had been raised to value family had wanted to make an honest woman out of her. Her mother while unable to stomach the idea of an abortion, had been perfectly fine with having the baby then putting it up for adoption and moving on with her life.

Gabe, however, had been dead set against the idea and thought they owed it to her to try being a family. He eventually convinced her, through sound argument, to marry him. Chloe could see it was important to her father that she realize that he didn't use his ability whenever he pleased. She'd be lying if she said the thought hadn't crossed her mind, and that it was a relief he hadn't coerced her mother in to marrying him. It helped that her ability pegged his words as being truthful.

So, they got married, moved to Metropolis, Kansas, and five months later she was born.

For a while things were good. Her parents adapted to married life and the role of doting parents. Then she'd turned two. As far as her father was concerned it has been apparent since she was a year old that she was special. She had reached all the early development milestones far faster than was normal for any infant. Talking at six months, walking at eight months, and reading at twelve months.

While her mother regarded her as a prodigy in the making, her father knew better. He wasn't completely sure at that time that her ability was Intuitive Aptitude but did suspect a similar ability such as enhanced intelligence. Either way, her displaying an ability at such a young age was dangerous.

He already knew how difficult it was for his parents to keep himself and his siblings' safe, to keep them from exposing their less than normal qualities to others and teaching them how to 'blend in' so to speak.

Despite how intelligent Chloe was showing herself to be it wouldn't make it any easier to keep her from drawing attention to herself. So, her father did what he could to minimize the risk.

He hired tutors and had her home schooled in numerous subjects in order to satisfy her curiosity and intelligence. By the time she was old enough for school she was already on a 8th grade level. After a few heated arguments with Moira he'd allowed her to attend one of Metropolis' exclusive prep schools, guaranteeing a certain level of discretion.

However, after only a year it was apparent she would soon run out of things for them to teach her, especially since he wouldn't allow them to advance several grades. Desperate her father had resorted to a more…questionable solution. A solution Moira would never have any idea about.

Which lead to the second thing on her mind.

Gabe got in contact with an old friend of the family. A telepathic old friend. Sometime after her sixth birthday Charles Xavier paid her father a visit, and during that visit placed several mental blocks on her ability. All of them were specific, they were to dampen the metal capacity of her ability but not the physical. It couldn't be blocked completely without severe consequences, so limiting her obvious intelligence was seen as the most "optimal" answer.

Needless to say, she didn't agree with that assessment at all.

Her father had argued that the government and others in power had an uncanny interest in extremely intelligent children, let along those with mutant abilities, and did whatever it took to "collect them." He had only done what he thought would keep her safe and off anyone's radar. In Gabe's opinion nothing was worse than being hunted for the rest of your life.

Part of her could see the logic in his words and actions. However, a larger part of her felt violated and betrayed that her mind had been tampered with without her knowledge. No wonder it had felt like she'd been going through life with a veil over her eyes. He'd explained that the brain trauma from her accident along with the seizure that followed had likely shattered the blocks allowing her to access the ability fully.

In the end even though he had significantly slowed her ability to learn, she was still far ahead of her age group. In order to rectify this she was signed up for all kinds of activities to occupy her time. Unsurprisingly, she excelled at everything she tried, even winning awards and trophies to document her success.

Life in the Sullivan household became simple once again running smoothly with few problems. But like all things, the other shoe inevitably dropped. Since her mental capacity for her ability had essentially been plugged, this lead to a substantial amount of growth going towards the physical aspect.

The significance of it?

One day when she was alone with her mother she'd begged her to allow her to have a couple more cookies for lunch. Her mother denied her request of course. Angry, Chloe had demanded her mother give her the cookies with as much determination as her nine year old self could muster.

And like a puppet on invisible strings Moira had done exactly what she'd wanted fully aware that she was being controlled but able to resist until she'd carried out her daughter's demand. While her mother had snapped out of it traumatized at what happened, Chloe had been blissfully unaware, not even noticing her mother had kept her distance the rest of the day until her father arrived home and told him what happened.

Gabe, exhausted at having to keep up the charade, decided to finally come clean with the truth rather than take the easy way out. It was a decision he admitted he sometimes regretted making. But what was done was done.

Her mother hadn't taken the secret. She didn't leave right away but the way she began to withdraw from them had been his first clue. Wariness eventually turned into anger and disgust which she took out on her husband and daughter in equal. After two months of withdrawn silence, fearful looks, and heated arguments her mother left them early on a Tuesday morning. Chloe had woken up well past the time she was supposed to be up for school to find her father sitting at the dining room table rolling her mother's wedding ring between his fingers stuck in a daze with tears running down his face. It had been the start to one of the worse days of her and her father's lives.

Gabe was adamant that it wasn't her fault, that he didn't blame her. He took all the blame as his own for not being truthful with Moira before they got married, and for placing those blocks on her out of his own paranoia and fear.

It wasn't difficult to realize her father was afraid for her Afraid that what had happened to Richard would happen to her. Afraid that he wouldn't be able to protect her from those that would wish her harm. And so very afraid that she would get too full of herself, and do something foolhardy, something that would get her killed.

Chloe tried her best to assure him there was nothing to worry about, that she knew her limits. She wasn't sure if she truly convinced him of anything.

They had ended the conversation there. Both of them too emotionally exhausted to continue any further, though her father promised they would talk more about things tomorrow after school and work.

Considering she was still up, unable to sleep, Chloe wasn't particularly looking forward to another conversation, or really talking to her father at all. Even though she understood his reasons that still didn't mean she wasn't upset with him for what he'd done, and she wasn't sure when, not if, she'd forgive him.

Worse, she had the sinking suspicion that there so much more he was holding back, and that those things were more terrifying than she could imagine.

* * *

 **A/N:** And here's the next chapter. Sorry for the wait, it took me so long to get this chapter exactly how I wanted it. Anyway, hope you guys like the direction the story is going. Please read and review. And thank you to those who reviewed, fav, and followed already.


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own Smallville, it belongs to its creators.**

 **Rating subject to change.**

* * *

Chapter Five

Chloe had eventually managed to get about an hour of sleep. Waking up she'd glared balefully at her alarm clock which showed it wasn't even close to time enough for her to be up yet.

Too much had occupied her mind to grant her a pleasant slumber. The conversation with her father had haunted her throughout the night; try as she might to clear her mind or occupy her thoughts with something else.

It was as the hours passed by and she lay staring up at her ceiling that everything had begun to really sink in. Feelings of anger, hurt and betrayal had overwhelmed her.

One thought had played over and over again in her mind. Her father had lied to her. He had lied to her, her entire life.

Chloe had no idea how to deal with that knowledge. Even now she could feel a weight in her throat and tears building up behind her eyes, but she refused to cry. No, she couldn't break down right now. If she let herself cry, released those feelings, she would end up easily forgiving him.

She could hold a grudge like nobody's business but it took effort and control over her emotions. Allowing herself to cry would be letting go of that control. She forgave a lot easier than she would have liked, and when it came to her father she could never quite stay mad at him. Plus it was more like forgave but never forgot to be more accurate.

Sniffling, she ran a hand over her eyes trying to stem her tears. Okay, laying down was no longer conducive since it appeared she wouldn't be catching anymore sleep. Pulling herself up from bed Chloe pushed the covers off and swung her legs around to sit on the edge of the bed.

While letting the feeling gradually return to her legs she glanced around her room. Chloe frowned as she realized her room had become quite the mess. She made note to clean it up before she left for school. The last thing she needed was her father lecturing her about neatness.

Standing up she stretched with a yawn feeling her muscles pull themselves. She ran in place a few times to shake off the last dredges of sleepiness before picking her clothes from yesterday off the floor

It took longer than she would have liked to pick up the clothes strewn around the room, and to put various odds and ends back in their proper place. But it was worth it to be able to walk around her room without tripping over something.

Chloe sat at her computer deciding surfing the web was as good a way to pass the time as any. Just as she was about to play a game of StarCraft she noticed a sticky note reminding her to reply to Justin Gain's latest email.

Justin was the _Torch's_ resident artist, and her part-time friend, who drew a much loved comic strip called the _Flaming Crows Feet._ Sadly, seven months ago while crossing the street he was struck head on by a speeding car. The bastard that hit him didn't even stop to see if he was alive.

Luckily someone came across him in their car and called for help. Justin was air lifted to the hospital barely hanging on to his life. After several life threatening surgeries, he managed to pull through only to be faced with an intense regimen of physical therapy ahead of him.

Her father had driven her to Metropolis to see him as soon as he was allowed visitors. Chloe couldn't help wincing as she remembered how he had been covered in a full body cast with all kinds of wires connected to his body from a horde of machines. He had remained unconscious during her entire visit, but that hadn't stopped her from talking to him about everything and nothing for about a half hour trying to give him some comfort. She'd gone to visit him a couple of more times after with Justin being awake for some of them.

She watched over months as he slowly healed, shedding his full body cast and tentatively learning how to walk again. Yet, not everything healed perfectly. His hands had been mangled almost beyond recognition. There had been several reconstructive and plastic surgeries to try and make his hands functional again.

Though if Justin's latest letter was anything to go by that might never happen.

 _Dear Chloe,_

 _How are you? I hope you're feeling better since the accident. I'm really glad you're okay. Luckily the fall wasn't as bad as it could've been for you. I don't know what I would do if you had died. The world would definitely be a lot dimmer without you in it._

 _Anyway, I'm due for another surgery on my hands tomorrow. Dr. Wells says it should vastly improve my mobility, but he can't give me any guarantees. Honestly, I'm starting to give up hope that I'll ever be able draw again. What am I supposed to do Chloe? Drawing is the only thing I'm good at. If I can't use my hands anymore… I don't know what I'll do if this surgery doesn't work out. I really hope it works._

 _But enough about me. Tell me what's been going on in Smallville. I know, I know. I must be pretty bored wanting to know what's going on in Smallville, right? Well you try spending all your time in a hospital that mostly consists of sick little kids. Really makes you wonder if you were that annoying at that age, but I digress. How's your Dad doing? What about Clark and Pete? I know you told me you and Clark are on hiatus in your friendship. Is it still that way? You know, for all his charm, Kent can be a right ass when he wants to be. Hopefully I'll be able to come home soon. I can't wait to see you again._

 _Best regards,_

 _Justin Gaines_

Chloe sincerely hoped Justin's surgery worked out in his favor. She knew how much his art meant to him. It was his whole world, without it… If worst came to worst, she'd try and help him through the ordeal. He had shown a lot of concern for her after her own accident, even calling to check up on her as soon as he heard.

It was always nice to see how much people cared about you. So many of her old friends from Metropolis had reached out to her in concern when they learned what happened. Chloe had realized guiltily, that she hadn't spoken to some of them in quite some time. She would have to change that.

And maybe when Justin came back they could become better friends? It was worth a shot. At the very least it seemed like he was interested in her.

She quickly composed an email updating him on her life (omitting the more recent details), and the current happenings in Smallville. Closing with a few words of encouragement, Chloe sent it off.

As she got ready for school Chloe's thoughts turned to her friendship with Clark.

In light of recent events, the problems with their friendship now seemed insignificant in comparison but not by any means non-existent. In fact now it was kinda ironic. She had accused him of keeping secrets, and now she had a secret of her own to keep. A secret she didn't even know she had been keeping until yesterday.

Had she overreacted to some of the things he said? Perhaps. On the other hand he had called out her integrity and loyalty as a friend and that had stung.

Chloe realized she had overstepped an unspoken boundary by looking into his adoption, yet she had never planned to make her findings public knowledge. It was to satisfy _her_ curiosity only. What would the population of Smallville High care about Clark's adoption anyway? He wasn't the only person in town who had been adopted. Why did he act like her looking in to his adoption would uncover some deep dark secret? Unless he had a secret to hide.

The Kent's appeared to be the average all-American family. Yet, there seemed to be more that lay beneath the surface. Though from their suspicious reactions to her simple interview questions, part of it had to do with Clark's adoption. The questions she'd asked had barely been probing, or invasive. They were the same questions you'd ask any parent with an adopted child; she _had_ done a little research on the subject.

Something was definitely rotten on the Kent farm. The question was: should she find out what for herself, or wait till Clark _finally_ decided to let her in on the secret? It was a tough decision.

They had been friends for years but lately it felt like they were strangers. It had only occurred to her in recent days that their friendship lacked a certain intimacy. She could tell you any number of things about Clark. She could you his favorite colors, foods, subjects, heck, even his shoe size. But if you were to ask her if she knew anything personal about Clark, something that only his closest friends would know; she wouldn't be able to do it.

They didn't really talk about anything personal, or rather Clark never did. She wondered how she hadn't realized that before. How she would talk and pour out some of her secrets to him and he would just nod along listening, but would never really reciprocate, would never tell her what was going on in his head. Getting him to give his opinion even on simple things was like pulling teeth. Clark was like the Fort Knox when it came to keeping things locked away. Hell sometimes she thought he was more secretive than she was.

She already had an inkling of what Clark's secret was. Turning Chloe opened the top drawer of the nightstand next to the bed. Reaching in, she pulled out her special journal. It was a hardcover, black leather journal that contained all the information she had on students she suspected on having special abilities. It was coded in a special language she had made up herself consisting of numbers, letters and different languages.

Chloe flipped it open to one of the few earmarked pages at the front of the book. At the top of the page was the name 'Clark Kent' along with his birthdate, sex, and height. Continuing down there were notes on his physical characteristics, parents and how long he had lived in Smallville. Beyond that were her speculations about his possible abilities.

So far, she speculated that he had super speed, super strength, and possible invulnerability.

The only one she was completely sure of was the super speed (teleportation had been ruled out due to the gust of wind that usually accompanied his exits). There was far too much evidence in its favor, and she didn't believe in constantly reoccurring coincidences. How Clark managed to arrive at school seconds after, or even before, the bus dropped them off even though there was no evidence of anyone having dropped him off was impossible. Then there was the way he would disappear in a second, far beyond any normal human speed or that of any vehicle he could possibly get his hands on, to save the day just in time even though the danger was miles away.

She had no idea whether he was some kind of super mutant, or a meteor freak jacked to a hundred. Either way, his dual or triple power set was not normal. Clark Kent was in a category all his own.

More baffling though was the fact that no one else seemed to realize, or at least point out what to her was so obvious. Of course, there was the possibility they knew but didn't care.

Everything else she had on Clark was pure speculation. Many of the metahumans Clark had fought and saved people from were powerful. She knew that from firsthand experience. Still somehow Clark found a way to defeat them all without a scratch. Well, except for that time he went up against Eric Summers, but she counted that as a fluke. It was very possible that Eric was stronger than Clark. In order for him to walk away from these experiences unscathed unlike the victims he rescued, he had to have some kind of super strength, or invulnerability, or both.

So far, those were the only abilities she suspected Clark of having. To absolutely confirm these abilities she would need to catch Clark using them. Which again raised quite the dilemma.

Because Clark was her friend she hadn't quite gone the whole nine yards in finding out his secret. Which for her included stalking, breaking and entering, and the occasional surveillance.

Since they were no longer friends she _could_ more freely do these things as she had no allegiance to him. However, as his friend that would be considered a major breach in privacy and trust.

Whether she was his friend or not, investigating him still carried the stiff penalty of losing his friendship forever. IF she was caught that was.

For all Chloe knew, she could just as easily find out his secret through no effort of her own. Clark Kent wasn't exactly known for his discretion, else his name wouldn't come up in so many police reports. He was lucky his dad was friends with the sheriff, otherwise he would have long ago been put under police scrutiny from being at so many crime scenes.

And there was always the possibility he would tell her himself. But she wouldn't hold her breath for that one. If he hadn't told Pete, and she was mostly positive he hadn't, who had been his friend the longest, odds were he wouldn't be telling her any time soon. Lana wasn't even a consideration.

Chloe still very much wanted Clark's friendship. She hadn't lied when she told him he was important to her. He and Pete had become constant fixtures in her life. Losing either of them would majorly suck. Even if they weren't the best friends she'd ever had. Honestly, she didn't think she would ever share as special and close a friendship as she had with her first friend, Barbara again. Not in this lifetime, and definitely not in Smallville.

The question was: Could she stifle her curiosity where Clark was concerned? Especially when it appeared that something weird seemed to happen every couple of weeks with Clark right in the thick of it.

There was also the fact she didn't like being lied to, or put upon when he tried to cover for his strange behavior. Nor did she like nearly having her head bitten off for daring to ask him something he considered personal. He always got that defensive look on his face and treated her like she was the Spanish Inquisition. Most people didn't act so extreme about things like that where a friend was involved. The most frustrating thing was that she could never figure out with him what was and wasn't off limits. He never took the time to explain himself.

To her friendship was a two way street. You gave as much as you took; lately it seemed like she was doing all the giving, and Clark all the taking. His world revolved around himself, his parents, Lana, Lex and saving the day. There was hardly any room for her or Pete these days.

There was nothing wrong with focusing on yourself or your parents, or even making new friends. It was when you started forgetting about your old friends that things became a problem. He was spending more time chasing after Lana, and hanging out with Lex than with her and Pete lately.

It was fine that he asked her to do research for him, sometimes she was already looking into what he wanted, but it was not fine that he tended to blow her and Pete off when they wanted to hang out, or were already together. The latter happening usually when Lana was in sight.

She got that he wanted to be the hero, that was cool and everything but if he was really trying to keep his abilities a secret he was doing a shit job. By always being the hero Clark was unintentionally putting himself in the limelight. If he wasn't careful he would land himself on someone's radar who would do whatever it took to find out his secrets and use it against him.

He was so naïve about how the world worked. How did he not realize this? And if he did, why the hell was he being so contrary? She'd bet every cent of the money she stole that when it finally happened he would have that cute, but stupid and confused look on his face that he wore more often than not.

"Urgh," Chloe growled in frustration. Clark Kent could be so infuriating. Why couldn't he actually be the simple farm boy he proclaimed to be? Things would be so much easier.

Then there was also the crush she had on Clark. The crush she'd harbored since they first met.

It wasn't hard to understand the attraction. Clark was gorgeous, with his dark hair, angelic face, sharp cheekbones, pouty lips, and expressive blue eyes. Not to mention he was sweet, kind, caring, and was pretty funny when he wanted to be. He was also self-centered, self-righteous, and more than a little unobservant, but that was beside the point.

Chloe wasn't sure if continuing to try and pursue a relationship with him was the best idea. It had been almost two years and Clark hadn't shown any interest at all. She had dropped hints both big and small of having a crush on him only to receive blank, or even uncomfortable looks in return.

It also didn't help that he only had eyes for Lana Lang. Chloe scoffed in derision as she thought about Smallville's pretty pink princess. For the life of her she couldn't see what Clark saw in her besides a pretty face. Actually, for that matter she didn't know what anybody in Smallville saw in Lana Lang that made her so special.

It had actually surprised her that Clark hadn't lost an ounce of interest even after the scarecrow fiasco. You would think after witnessing how easily Lana brushed off Whitney's actions and continued to date him that Clark would get the picture. Lana Lang didn't care about him. Oh, she appeared to care for him now, but considering she had yet to bring things off with Whitney, it seemed an awful lot like she was stringing Clark along. That he was her back up if things didn't work out with Whitney, or she just liked having his full attention. Chloe didn't know which it was but it was definitely one or the other.

Trying to figure out how Lana wielded so much influence had led to her having her very own page in Chloe's journal. Chloe believed Lana had the power to influence people, particularly those who had been born in Smallville, through excreting some kind of pheromone. Considering the fact she had been wearing a piece of meteor rock around her neck since she was a child, the girl was definitely a meteor mutant.

How else could you explain her, a fourteen year old, being able to date an eighteen year old Whitney without anyone batting an eyelash? She didn't even wanna speculate about whether they were physically involved or not. Seeing as Whitney was the textbook definition of a red-blooded American male, he was fucking someone, even if it wasn't Lana.

Then there was the fact people gave her whatever she wanted with just a bat of her eyelashes; or by talking about how her parents had died. Chloe didn't even hang out with Lana but she'd been around her enough to be able to recount that sob story word for word. It was disgusting.

Her parents died when she was three. How much could she really remember about them? And if she wasn't over their deaths by now then she never would be.

Chloe wasn't sure if she did it unconsciously or on purpose. While it was amusing to assume Lana was the typical airhead, she had shown herself to be quite intelligent. Though intelligence aside, it was unlikely Lana was unaware of the influence she had over people. Chloe had yet to gather enough solid evidence to prove her theories; and short of kidnapping and experimenting on Lana, odds were she wouldn't get the chance anytime soon.

Perhaps it was time to put her feelings for Clark behind her. It would be hard enough trying to be friends again without also pinning to be his girlfriend. Look how well that strategy was working out for Clark with Lana.

Maybe she could give Pete a chance. She didn't really feel anything for him except friendship but it only seemed fair to give him a shot. After all, she had mistakenly assumed his constant flirting was just Pete being Pete rather than him actually liking her.

Still the thought of dating him didn't enthuse her in the least. Idly, she wondered if that was how Clark felt about her. It was something to think about.

Closing the journal and setting it back in the nightstand she looked over at her alarm clock. It was 4 a.m. In another hour her father would be getting up for work. If she hurried she could be in and out of the bathroom by the time he woke up.

She rummaged around her drawers and closet pulling out the clothes she would wear. Setting the outfit aside she made her way to the bathroom to get ready.

Chloe returned to her room wrapped in a towel her hair having already been blow dried. Whipping off the towel she got dressed quickly in her underwear, a pair of low slung black jeans, socks, white tank top, and forest green buttoned shirt. Rummaging through her closet she pulled out a pair of black tennis shoes to complete the outfit.

Setting the shoes by the door, Chloe plopped down on the bed trying to figure out what she would do today. Letting out a bored sigh she glanced around the room.

Her eyes landed on the files she'd stole from Hamilton and had yet to look over. Rising Chloe picked up the files and placed them in her book bag alongside her laptop. Going through them during class would be as good a time as any to read them. It wasn't like she was learning anything lately, or even needed to pay attention. The most she had to do was occasionally flip through her books.

Chloe briefly considered skipping school altogether but knew someone would notice and bring it to her father's attention. People in this town really didn't know how to mind their own damn business. But constantly liked to tell her that _she_ should.

She checked to make sure her homework was done and safely stowed away, she heard doors opening and closing until the sound of the shower running was the only noise she could hear. Dad was officially up. Great.

Chloe's hands balled into fists around her bag. She really didn't want to see him right now but knew there would be no avoiding a confrontation, so she might as well get it over with this morning.

Considering she'd likely be in a bad mood the rest of the day, Chloe grabbed a small duffle bag and stuffed it with some gym clothes and equipment. Today was as good a day as any to get back into fighting form. Hopefully she wouldn't assault anyone before she made it to the Smallville Gym after school.

Making sure to grab her charged cellphone Chloe stuffed it in her purse, seized her bags and shoes, and headed downstairs to eat breakfast. Dumping her belongings by the front door for easy pick up, she made her way into the kitchen.

She started the coffee maker and began rummaging through the fridge and cabinets for something to eat before finally settling on some apple cinnamon oatmeal.

By the time her father came down the stairs she'd polished off the oatmeal and was on her second cup of coffee. He entered fixing his tie and running a hand through his disheveled hair. If the slight bags under his eyes was any indication he hadn't gotten anymore sleep than she had. Good, it served him right.

Gabe was dressed in his usual attire of black slacks, a white collared shirt, tie, and black suit jacket. Professional, but with a simplicity that matched his work environment.

Gabe walked in the kitchen to see Chloe glaring at her cup of coffee next to an empty bowl.

He let out tired sigh. It was going to be one of those days. If his daughter's early rise was any indication she had slept about as well as he had. The whole night he had tossed and turned, reliving one mistake after another.

Observing his daughter he could see slight bags under her eyes. While she looked tired, there was no mistaking the quiet rage burning in her eyes. Rage. He could deal with rage. It was better that she was feeling something rather than nothing at all. He had no idea how to deal with an apathetic Chloe, especially taking her now fully manifested ability into consideration.

Really he shouldn't have expected any different. It had been too much to hope she would take things calmly.

Gabe sported a tentative smile, "Good morning, Chloe," he called. An aggravated grunt was his only response. She didn't even bother to look up at him. He could see her fingers were wrapped tight around the mug and her entire body was coiled with tension. Gabe rubbed his eyes, "Chloe, sweetheart, please talk to me. I know I'm not your favorite person right now, but I still love you and want to know that you're going to be alright." Gabe looked at her pleadingly. There was still no response.

Chloe's only move was to take a sip of her coffee. Her gaze now focused on the table. She wasn't talking to him. She so angry right now that she couldn't even look at him let alone speak to him, anything she said would only come out hatefully. As upset as she was right now she didn't want to hurt him. It was better to say nothing.

Gabe felt his heart constrict painfully as his daughter continued to ignore him. Shit. He'd really done it this time. Chloe had never ignored him quite like this. Usually she would at least make snarky remarks and shoot glares his way when she thought he wasn't looking. No matter how angry she had never given him the cold shoulder. Things were worse than he thought. Would she ever forgive him for this?

Moving towards the table he set down his briefcase and pulled out a seat. Sitting he looked over at Chloe trying to meet her gaze. She only tilted her head further down. Running a hand over his face, "Chloe, please, look at me. I need to discuss something with you before you go to school." Gabe leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table, hands clasped together.

A grimace twisted Chloe's lips at her father's words. What could he possibly want to discuss now? Hadn't they talked enough?

When she still didn't respond Gabe glared down at the table in frustration. Well if she was going to ignore him he would just have say his peace and be done with it for now. It appeared he would need to give her the space to work things out.

"Chloe," said Gabe. "While using your own ability is fine, I want you to be careful how you do it. Drawing unwanted attention to yourself here can be dangerous."

Chloe's head shot up in an instant. She glared at her father with narrowed eyes. It sounded like he knew something she didn't. But he couldn't. Could he?

Gabe resisted the urge to smirk at seeing how easily he'd captured Chloe's attention just as intended. Maybe one of these days he'd divulge some of the secrets he knew to her. But today wouldn't be that day.

"I might be your dear old Dad who works at the 'crap' factory, but I have eyes and ears open just like you do. I make it my mission to know exactly what's going on in Smallville, especially anything that might impact you. I don't know if you've noticed," He intoned mockingly, "but this town isn't exactly the safest place."

Chloe snorted. That was the understatement of the century. She knew firsthand how dangerous Smallville could be. "Oh no Dad, I was totally unaware of that," she retorted, her voice dripping in sarcasm.

Gabe's heart fluttered at hearing her finally speak. Okay, there was some progress. Progress was good.

"Well, now that you know, please be careful. I would hate it if anything happened to you. Okay?" Gabe tried to poor as much love and concern as he could into his words hoping she'd pick up on it.

Chloe resisted the urge to remind him she could take care of herself. Mostly because as of late that hadn't been true at all. She'd done an abysmal job of protecting herself, which was why she would soon be getting back into fighting form. Chloe wouldn't be caught off guard again.

"Fine. I'll stay out of trouble. Happy now?" She considered questioning him on his vague comments but decided against it. Getting into an argument this early in the morning would only make the day worse. She could do it later when she got home. Let it be the cherry on top of a shit sundae.

Gabe gave her a tight smile in return, "Absolutely."

Pushing herself from the table Chloe picked up her dirty dishes and put them in the sink. "Then I'm off to school." Without another word she walked out the kitchen. Grabbing her keys off the mantle and picking up her bags she left the house.

Gabe watched Chloe leave with a heavy heart. She hadn't even given him the chance to wish her a good day at school. Nor did she do the same for him about work. Leaning on the table he placed his head in his hands fervently wishing he could go back in time and do things differently.

* * *

It was yet another weird day in the life of Clark Kent.

This morning he'd headed downstairs for breakfast only to be greeted to the sight of his mom cradling a sobbing Ryan while his father looked on grimly.

Confused, Clark had turned to ask his father what was going on only to get the _Smallville Ledger_ shoved into his hands.

The paper's headline read, "Criminal Slain by Luthor's Security." The story was about a man, James Gibson, who was killed while attempting to pose as one of Lex Luthor's limo drivers. When caught in the ruse Gibson shot at security and attempted to flee only to be shot and killed himself. The man's wife, Debra Burch, was later found and arrested for illegally posing as an agent for Child Protective Services. Apparently, the two were a pair of career criminals who went around committing armed robbery.

While the article was certainly informative it had done little to clue him in to what was going on. Voicing this out loud, his father had finally explained things since his mother had her hands full.

Ryan had went to fetch the newspaper that morning and thus had seen the article. Imagine his surprise to learn that his stepfather was now dead. He couldn't help breaking down in relief at realizing his nightmare was over. Martha and Jonathan, having heard his cries had rushed from the kitchen to the entry way to find him sobbing almost uncontrollably at the news.

Unable to lie to them any longer Ryan had broken down and told them everything he'd been deliberately holding back from them about his past.

It had been an uncomfortable situation for Clark as for once he had appeared after everything was said and done. Breakfast had been a solemn affair as his parents tried to figure out what to do with Ryan. As far as Ryan knew he didn't have any relatives he knew of that could take him in, leading to him practically pleading with the Kent's to adopt him.

While Clark could tell his parents were open to the idea, and he certainly wouldn't mind having Ryan for a little brother, the fact of the matter was that adoption was a process. Unlike his own adoption, it wouldn't be so easy to adopt Ryan. Not to mention the fact that adopting a child cost money and right now things were pretty tight on the farm.

He soon left for school though no feasible solution had been reached by anyone. Hopefully, one would present itself soon. One that would be beneficial to all parties involved. Clark couldn't help wondering what the future would hold for Ryan, and for himself.

So much had changed this past year. He had finally found out why he was different, why he could do things other people couldn't. He was an alien from another planet. What planet? He wasn't sure, just that it certainly wasn't Earth.

He had been so angry when his dad had finally told him. He still was a little upset with them even if he didn't show it. After all, how could they keep something huge like that from him for so long? Sure, maybe he had been too young to tell when they first adopted him but that was no longer the case. Sometimes he wondered if they would have ever told him if Lex hadn't hit him on that bridge and freaked him out with how easily he'd survived the experience. Part of him wanted to ask them when they would have finally explained things, while the other half was afraid to hear what their answer would be.

Speeding to school, Clark was disappointed to once again realize he wouldn't have Chloe or Pete to greet him there. It had been hitting him hard the last couple of days just how much he treasured Pete and Chloe's friendship. He hadn't exactly considered how lonely he would be without them.

Lately, all he could think about was how hard it was becoming to keep his secret safe from them. It wasn't as easy as it used to be. Not with all the meteor mutants running around. And wasn't that just perfect. Not only did he have to deal with his own identity crisis, he also had to stop crazy, murderous meteor mutants who were picking now to come out of the woodwork. Things had been so much easier when he thought he was just a mutant or metahuman.

As he came closer to the school Clark slowed down to normal human speed. He walked the last few feet needing a chance to gather his thoughts before class. Clark ran a hand through his hair, tugging on the strands while his face twisted in a grimace.

Everything was becoming too much. Why did things have to be so complicated? Why couldn't he have been born on this planet? Just a normal boy with normal problems. Instead he was an alien from some unknown planet with abilities that he had hide from everyone except his parents.

And he was so tired of it! Even though he'd been doing it for the last twelve years, having to constantly lie about who he was and what he could do hadn't become any easier.

He felt suffocated more often than not by the rules his parents had drilled into his head since day one. He was not to use his abilities in front of anyone. No, he couldn't tell anyone what he could do. He must protect his secret at all cost, least someone find out and tell others, which would lead to him being taken away and experimented on. No one else could be trusted.

But he wanted to entrust someone with his secret. He wanted to share it with someone other than his parents. But who could he trust when no one could be trusted?

Even with his parents by his side, and Pete, Chloe, Lana and Lex as friends, there was so much missing. His life felt like a half completed puzzle that had several pieces missing. Worse, there was nothing he could truly call his own. Sports were out of the question because he might hurt others with his superior abilities. Yet, academics were equally off limits as making perfect scores would only draw attention to himself. No, he had to be so average no one would even take a glance at him, let alone look deeper.

Being able to freely use his abilities on the farm just wasn't enough anymore. And frankly, that was more to his parents benefit than his own. Don't get him wrong, he didn't think his parents were exploiting him, and he knew they needed him to keep the farm running which was their livelihood, but sometimes it felt that way since farm was the only place where he could exercise his abilities.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL MAN!"

So caught up his thoughts Clark barely registered where he was walking until he bumped into one of the upperclassmen jocks. The guy looked about seventeen with brunette hair, brown eyes and average looking face which currently sported a scowl. Aaron Duplantis was the name that popped into Clark's head.

"Watch where you're going, Kent!" snarled Aaron. He was rubbing his shoulder slightly wincing in pain. A few students stopped to observe the scene seemingly anticipating a fight.

Snapping him out his thoughts Clark opened his mouth to apologize but the bell rang signaling it was time for first period. Aaron scoffed before walking into the building along with everyone else.

Damn! Couldn't he do anything right? Letting out a sigh, he quickly made his way to his locker to collect his books and hurried to first period English.

He just managed to squeeze into the classroom before Mr. Jamison closed the door on him. Jamison shot him a look of disapproval which he studiously ignored. Really, the man should be used to his near chronic tardiness by now. The irony did not escape him that despite having super speed he still found a way to be late more often than not.

Inwardly chuckling, Clark took his seat near the back of the classroom. Pulling out the materials he needed from his book bag, he turned back towards the front ready to feign interest in whatever lesson Mr. Jamison had planned for today.

"Alright class! We'll be picking back up where we left off," Mr. Jamison announced loudly. "All week you have been learning about William Shakespeare; we learned about his life, his plays, and the impact he continues to have on literature to this day.

Today we will begin reading one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies, _Othello, The Moor of Venice_. I look forward to seeing how well this class can act out the characters. Volunteers are welcome, but if none come forward I'll pick them out myself" he added nonchalantly.

There was a chorus of groans at his words. Volunteering to read aloud was one thing but being forced to do so was another. Unfortunately, Mr. Jamison was all about his students getting involved in his lessons. At least ten percent of their overall grade was for participation.

Luckily, Clark thought sarcastically, Mr. Jamison liked to call on him as much as possible. A fact that never failed to annoy him. Or Chloe. Speaking of Chloe, she was probably ecstatic about Jamison's choice of play. He knew Shakespeare was one of her favorite author's and that she loved his plays. Clark gazed around only to see she was nowhere in sight.

"Huh." That was odd. Chloe wasn't exactly one to miss school; usually because she couldn't wait to work on articles for the _Torch_. He wondered what could possibly be keeping her from school. The last time she'd missed had been due to illness and injury. He hoped she was alright.

Mr. Jamison shook his head in fond exasperation. "Now, none of that. This is honor's English, which means you all are some of the best students in this school, and therefore you need to be challenged." Jamison picked up one of the stacks of thin books he had on his desk. "I need a couple of volunteers to pass these books out." A few hands instantly shot up. "Excellent."

He pointed to one student near the front and another in the middle of the class.

"Alright, while that's going on, let's talk about _Othello_. Does anyone here know what the play is about? No? No one? Well, _Othello_ is a tragedy. It's about a tragic hero, named Othello, being tricked by his ensign Iago into thinking his wife has been unfaithful. Othello is a Moor, which means—"

Clark proceeded to tune the teacher out as he returned to his previous thoughts.

He trusted Pete. He was Clark's oldest friend and his loyalty to him had never been in doubt. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to tell Pete the truth. He couldn't really explain why. Well, actually he did know why; Pete tended to crack under pressure, and liked to blame other people for his problems. Not exactly a person to tell your secrets to.

Then there was Chloe. Clark wasn't quite sure how he felt about Chloe at the moment. He had already mostly forgiven her for looking into his adoption but that right there made him wary of sharing anything with her. She could be a bulldog when chasing down information, and ruthless in dispensing it. Though he had to admit that maybe he had been unfair to her in his assessment that she would spread whatever she learned to the masses. As far as he knew she hadn't shared any of the personal things he and Pete, or rather more Pete, had ever told her.

Maybe he was just a little overly paranoid. But who wouldn't be in his situation? On the other hand he did know she had her suspicions. Chloe was no fool that was for sure. He was sure if they continued to be friends she would eventually find out. It would only a question of when and how. Which made making the decision to continue their friendship boil down to whether he wanted to risk that. He honestly didn't know. While it would be nice to share his secret with someone, he still didn't know if he could really trust her.

Then there was Lex and Lana.

Though he had only known Lex for a short time he felt a strong connection to him. Their friendship felt so different from his with Pete or Chloe. Yet, he was cautious of Lex at the same time. It was clear Lex had his suspicions and Clark was doing his best to throw them off. But it sucked that their friendship was based off lies from the beginning. It also didn't help that his father never missed an opportunity to tell him Lex couldn't be trusted. Even though he knew Lex better than his father, occasionally he would hear his voice in the back of his mind quietly cautioning him about telling Lex things.

Lana was a whole other can of worms he wasn't sure he wanted to keep open. Despite his best efforts it seemed like he was getting nowhere with her. Sometimes it felt like they connected and she was really into him. Other times, it felt like he was a puppet whose strings she was pulling whenever she felt like it. It also didn't help that it seemed like no matter what Whitney Fordman did she would take him back. But a large part of him still wanted to know what it would be like to date Lana, and until that feeling went away…

As far as telling her his secret goes, it was nowhere near a possibility at this time. Not unless they really became a couple and she proved she could be trusted.

However, knowing all this didn't make things any easier. Nor did his parents' constant reassurance that everything would work out, and he'd be able share his secret 'someday.' Of course, they had no idea when that day would come.

He had found himself wondering more and more often when it would be. Because frankly he felt like he would explode if it didn't arrive soon. Every day it felt like the walls were closing in on him leaving him isolated from those around him.

He wanted to share his secret. He needed to share his secret. But he couldn't. There was no way of knowing how any of his friends would react, and he didn't want to risk their fear and rejection, or worse, their scorn.

Thus, Clark Kent must remain a secret hidden in plain sight. No one could know there was more to him than being an adopted Kansas farm boy who was kind and caring to those who knew him. There was nothing special about Clark Kent. He was normal. He was human. He was—

"Mr. Kent. Mr. Kent!"

"What?" Clark stammered. He looked up to see everyone's eyes on him. He heard the laughter of some of his classmates who gazed at him with mirth in their eyes.

"So glad to see you're back among the living, Mr. Kent. For a second I thought we had lost you," said Mr. Jamison in amusement.

Clark, having no idea what was going on, decided to hazard a guess. "Uh, could you repeat the question again?"

Mr. Jamison sighed. "I really wish you would pay more attention Mr. Kent. I was asking you, how would you like the honor of playing the role of Othello?" He looked at Clark expectantly for an answer.

"Oh! Well…that would be great. I guess?" He didn't really know how else to answer that question. It was likely even if he said no he would end up doing it anyway.

Jamison clapped his hands together. "Excellent. Now if you'd just open your book to the beginning of the play we can get started," he added sardonically. There was another burst of laughter from the class.

Clark felt his ears burn red with embarrassment. This was not what he needed today. Hopefully things would get better as the day wore on. Maybe he could find out what was up with Chloe, or call Pete.

"Mrs. Livingston, you may begin. Act I, Scene I. A Street in Venice." Jamison directed.

"Tush! Never tell me; I take it much unkindly that thou Iago, who hast had my purse as if strings were thine, shouldst know this."

* * *

Hours had passed, yet Chloe was still in a foul mood. For that reason alone—and the fact she really didn't want to have to deal with anyone—she was spending the entire school day shut away in the _Torch_ with the doors locked and the blinds drawn. Consequences be damned.

While skipping class wasn't her style, today she was perfectly willing to risk suspension. She could use a few school free days at home to work on her projects.

Besides it wasn't like she had been spending her time unproductively. Just in the last couple of hours she had put the finishing touches on the latest issue of the Torch, gathered as much information as she could on Ryan James, studied ahead for her classes, and briefly looked into the requirements she'd need to graduate early and talked on the phone with Pete for a while.

The call started off a little awkward but the more they talked the more comfortable it became. She knew Pete had been very close to his maternal grandmother, and could hear the grief that colored his voice during their conversation. The funeral was tomorrow then he and his family would be leaving the next day.

Chloe listened as he fondly reminisced over his most precious memories with Grandma Jackson, and vented his frustration with his relatives who were getting on his nerves.

In turn she had told him of what little he had missed in Smallville in his absence. Aside from the Kent's fostering Ryan and Clark's continued pursuit of Lana, there wasn't much to tell and she had no desire to talk about her own recent troubles.

She felt a bit guilty but mostly irritated when he tried once again to talk her into making up with Clark; the first time had been right before he left. Chloe still wasn't in the mood for it even though she knew it was hurting him that his two best friends were no longer on speaking terms.

But she couldn't cave just to assuage Pete's feelings. She had to figure things out for herself and she didn't appreciate anyone pressuring her to do anything. The call had ended on a tense note.

The info she scrounged up about Ryan had been quite depressing. His mother died about a year ago and he was adopted by his stepfather, James Ryan. The man could only be described as a career criminal. How he had gotten custody of Ryan considering his record was a mystery. Though she supposed it helped that he didn't have any other relatives to take him in. No doubt having the man as his guardian had seemed better than being dumped in some foster home.

Or at least it would have been. Imagine her surprise to learn Ryan's stepfather was recently no longer with the living. A quick look at the Smallville Ledger, and there it was. James Ryan had been killed while his new wife was arrested. All of it thanks to Lex's security team, no less. It looked he'd taken her words to heart and actually gotten better security. Good for him. But bad for Ryan.

With no living relatives it was inevitable that he would be put into a foster home. Unless the Kent's decided to adopt him. Chloe wouldn't be surprised if child services hadn't already picked the poor kid up and given him the bad news. They should know who he is by now and that he was with the Kent's.

She wondered how everyone would take things, especially Mr. Kent. Lex being involved in what happened would only increase the man's dislike of him. At least she thought it would if Clark was to be believed. The way he talked made it seem like Mr. Kent hated the Luthor's almost as much as the Ross'.

Chloe let out a sigh as she propped her feet up on her desk and leaned back in her swivel chair. If she saw Clark sometime today she'd make sure to give him everything she had gathered. She certainly wouldn't need it.

Glancing at the clock Chloe saw it was almost lunch time. Urgh. She really didn't feel like having to deal with the denizens of Smallville High in the cafeteria for food that was barely edible. Unfortunately the only people allowed to leave campus for lunch were teachers and the seniors.

Chloe hummed in thought as she tried to figure out a solution. If she planned things right she could sneak off campus, get some good food and then sneak back on with no one the wiser. Or she could simply pay one of the senior's to get her some food and bring it back. There were quite a few she knew and trusted to bring back what she asked instead of pocketing the money.

As the bell rung signaling the beginning of lunch Chloe swung her legs off the desk onto the floor with her decision made. Option B it was. Hurrying, she grabbed some cash and snuck out into the hallways, blending in with the mass of students leaving classrooms to find a senior.

Half an hour later she was sitting at her desk munching on a thick muffuletta sandwich courtesy of Jason Hicks and the Smallville Deli. Complementing the meal was a bag of Doritos and a Coke.

Chloe groaned in delight as she took another bite. "This is so much better than cafeteria food," she murmured with her mouth half full. Thank god no one was here to see her appalling table manners.

Finishing off her meal with a bit of disappointment that it was already gone, she finally got down to doing what she had been neglecting for the last couple of days. Going through Dr. Hamilton's lab notes.

Dragging her book bag over to her chair she pulled out a thick stack of files. As she piled them up on her desk Chloe suddenly realized that reading through and documenting all of them would probably take hours.

She was proven right when she finally finished just minutes before the final bell rang.

Chloe rubbed her temples to try and relieve the throbbing pressure building behind her eyes. Her face scrunched up in pain as it only seemed to make things worse. A migraine was not what she needed right now. Yet, at the moment she didn't have the mental fortitude needed to genuinely process how frighteningly thorough Hamilton's research was.

Even before he started being funded by Lex the man had already gathered a ridiculous amount of data. So much in fact, she was pretty sure someone else had funded him before Lex did. That or Hamilton had been selling some of his research to companies. A lot of the experiments he conducted needed equipment that didn't come cheap. And there was no way the museum he ran made enough money to pay for it. Or, it could simply be he had used every last ounce of money he had saved up as a professor to conduct his research which was plausible. Metropolis University was one of the few public higher education schools that paid their professors extremely well.

Either way, the research he'd collected on the meteor rocks was invaluable. She felt guilty to realize all that lab equipment she'd bought for her own experiments with the rocks was now pretty much a waste. Hamilton had found just about everything she was looking for.

His lab reports without a doubt proved that the 1989 meteorite shower had irrevocably changed Smallville's environment by mutating plants, animals and even humans. He hadn't experimented on humans but he had certainly kept an eye on the goings on in Smallville. Particularly keeping an eye on people who had been near places the meteors impacted that day.

The reports were very detailed and professional. Experiments had been conducted on four different types of meteorite he'd found that came in distinct colors, which had certainly thrown her for a loop, as she had only thought the meteors came in one color, green. But nope, there were also red, blue and yellow meteorites that Hamilton had found spread throughout the county.

The results were color coded in order to reflect the meteorites they were about. The experiments were generally conducted on lab mice and the local flora around Smallville. Occasionally, Hamilton would capture, observe and run experiments on other animals too.

Green meteorites were the most potent in their effects and could be found in abundance. The green meteorites strongly emitted radiation that caused physical mutations. Those mutations could be as harmless, like gaining accelerated healing or an extra limb, or fatal such as the rapid development of cancer or a psychotic break; and those were just some of the best case scenarios as far the negative side effects go. There were very few positive ones.

Truly frightening was the fact that it didn't take much of the green meteorite to start stimulating effects. Even a small sliver of green meteorite was enough to cause harm if it was in even short prolonged contact with the skin. Also worrying was that the effects it caused varied drastically. The chance of getting the same results, even using perfect conditions, was slim to none. It made using the rocks for anything innovative near impossible.

When used on plants it caused them to become immune to disease and grow at an exponential rate. Unfortunately, those same plants weren't at all safe to eat usually inciting cannibalistic tendencies in the animals that consumed them, causing them to eat any and everything in sight, insatiable in their appetites. Chloe wished this information had been public knowledge. It would have certainly prevented what happened to Jodi.

A chill ran down her spine as a single thought occurred to her. If plants grown in direct contact with the meteorites caused cannibalism, then what about those grown on soil that had once been tainted with them?

She a felt nauseous feeling in her stomach replace the migraine she'd previously felt. God. She and her father had been eating nothing but produce grown in Smallville the last couple of years. The chances of them being infected in some way…

Chloe shook her head. Best not to think about that right now. There was plenty enough to worry about without freaking out over something that might not even be an issue. She took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing to go over her notes.

Next were the blue meteorites which had regenerative and healing properties. They could heal just about any ailment. Cancer, disease, infection, even lost limbs weren't a problem. The only downside was that the effects of the blue meteorite were only felt through constant exposure until the aliment was healed. However, just being surrounded by the blue meteorite did seem to boost the immune system.

Red meteorites were just as potent as the blue ones and also needed constant exposure. Unlike the blue, red affected its specimens mentally and physically. It appeared to loosen inhibitions in test subjects, making them more daring, seeming to intoxicate them with its effects. The moment the meteorite was removed, the effects wore off returning subjects to their normal behavior.

And last but not least was the yellow meteorite, the most interesting of them all. The yellow meteorite appeared to negate the effects of all the other three. And that was it. Dozens of tests had been run on yellow meteorites by itself but it appeared to produce no other effects.

Interestingly, the effects of all the meteorites could be blocked by the use of lead. Hamilton noted the moment he found that out he began wearing lead gloves whenever dealing with the meteors for extended periods in order to reduce their effect on him.

Chloe gathered up the folders and shoved them back into her bag. She picked up the tablet on which she'd written notes and flicked through it, making sure she had the most important stuff written down. Satisfied she placed it into her bag. Just as she was zipping it up the final bell rang.

Time to hit the gym. Chloe went around organizing the room and shutting down the computers. Finished, she picked up her bag, unlocked the door and stepped out into the crowded hallway. Making sure to lock the door behind her Chloe set a brisk pace toward her car trying to go unnoticed.

Luck was on her side as she was able to make it to her car without anyone spotting her. As she pulled out of the parking lot intending to head for the Smallville gym, she had the sudden urge for a cappuccino and reversed course.

Her lips pursed as she thought of finally having to deal with people. The Beanery would no doubt be packed even if it was a Tuesday. So, that only left the Talon which was practically still a ghost town even on its best days. But did she really want to have to deal with Clark and Lana?

Caffeine. Or no caffeine. Caffeine. Or no caffeine.

Chloe let out a long suffering sigh as she headed for the Talon. Caffeine it is. It would give her the jolt she needed for her work out and help marginally improve her mood. Those two things alone made having to put up with the '0love triangle from hell' worth the effort.

* * *

Chloe walked into the Talon only to find it bustling with people. She barely held in a scream.

It wasn't even Friday! Why the hell were so many people here today? There had been no special advertisement on the board above the Talon, so it made no sense for so many people to be here. Though the place could boast that they had higher quality coffee, it did little to change the fact that those employed to work here clearly didn't know how to prepare it properly. Which meant the Beanery was still the de facto place to drink at least a decent beverage and hang out with friends.

Scanning the place, Chloe caught sight of Lana frantically serving drinks to patrons. A decided lack of Lana Lang made going to the Beanery seem more desirable. Luckily it appeared Clark had chores to take care of after school so he wouldn't be here for quite some time. And there was the fact Ryan would be tagging along with him. He might chose to stay on the farm and hang out with the kid who might very well become his little brother.

However, as much as she didn't care for the Talon's coffee, she'd at least give them the fact they had Mrs. Kent's baked goods. That was some pretty good incentive to come here as far as she was concerned. Still didn't make up for the bad coffee though.

Taking another look around the place Chloe managed to spot an unoccupied table sequestered away in a corner. Steeling herself, Chloe pushed past the throng of customers in her way till she was at the front counter.

A skinny brunette with glasses smiled, giving a nervous greeting, "Welcome to the Talon. How can I help you?"

"Yeah, can I get a vanilla cappuccino with four shots of expresso?" The various baked goods lining up the counter caught her eye. "Also, a strawberry muffin and a slice of apple pie too?" she asked with a sheepish grin.

The girl raised an eyebrow in surprise but nodded as she rang up her total. "Sure. That'll be $9.34." Chloe handed over the money.

Moving off to side she tapped her fingers against the counter as she waited for her order to be filled. Bored, she turned to observe the people around her. There was a group of jocks seated around one of the largest tables laughing and joking around. A couple feet away were some of popular crowd taking in hushed tones while shooting glances at certain people around them. And scattered all over the place were students doing their homework, adults chatting with friends, and others on laptops surfing the web.

Just as she was about to turn back around to see if her drink was ready she spotted Lex Luthor striding through the Talon's doors. He looked impeccable as always dressed in an expensive suit, Armani this time, sans tie with his customary long black coat. A small smile played on his lips as he gazed around.

"Here you go," said a cheery voice, snapping Chloe out of her perusal of Luthor.

Turning around she flashed the girl a smile in thanks before picking up her purchases. Carefully balancing her cappuccino and plate of goodies, Chloe made her way to the thankfully still unoccupied table.

Managing to successfully place her food and drink Chloe gratefully sank down onto a plush chair taking a big sip of her cappuccino. A sigh of contentment escaped her. Wasn't it a shame that this was the most relaxed she'd been all day?

Yet, she couldn't wait till she got to the gym. Things would become a lot clearer there.

Lex was pleasantly surprised to walk into the Talon and see it near packed to capacity. _This is certainly a strange turn of events_. The last time he'd checked in on the place it had practically been deserted. Now it was teeming with adults and teenagers alike.

Walking in further, he spotted Lana moving around serving customers. A cursory glance showed Clark was nowhere in sight. Probably taking care of chores on the farm or with that kid, Ryan. He had a sneaking suspicion Clark would soon be celebrating the addition of a brother to his family. He wished Clark all the best in that endeavor. On rare days he wished Julian had survived infancy and he'd have had a brother to share things with.

Seeing Lana was back at the counter Lex headed over to speak with her.

"I see things are going well. What's your secret?" asked Lex.

Lana turned around startled to see Lex behind her. "Lex! Hey, yeah, things are going great. I'm actually a little amazed myself at how well business is going, though I'm not complaining," she explained with an excited smile.

Lex gave her a smirk in return. "Well, let's hope our luck holds up." He paused trying to think of why else he'd come in here. Right. "Can I get a coffee, black, please?"

"Of course," Lana beamed, turning around to fix his order.

Lex shifted his gaze around to survey the Talon once again. He was just about to turn around when he spotted Chloe Sullivan tucked into a corner with a slightly stressed look on her face. Interesting.

"Alright Lex, one piping hot black coffee."

Grabbing the coffee, Lex pulled a twenty out of his pocket and handed it to Lana. "Keep the change." Changing direction he headed straight towards Chloe. He hadn't seen her and Clark hanging out for quite some time. Yet, every time he tried to bring it up Clark usually danced around the subject. Perhaps Chloe would be more forthcoming.

"Fancy meeting you here, Ms. Sullivan," Lex greeted. Without waiting for her permission he set down his drink and pulled out a chair. Seated comfortably he gauged her expression. Currently she looked both confused and annoyed with his presence.

Chloe stared as Lex Luthor just invited himself to sit at the table with her. She was pretty sure that despite how relaxed she might have felt on the inside, she had made damn sure to look uninviting on the outside so no one would bother her. Yet, here Lex was, apparently ready to chat her up.

"Yeah, I guess," she said carefully. "I just needed a snack, some caffeine and quiet, but two outta three ain't bad." Chloe gave a bland smile.

Inwardly, Lex frowned at Chloe's lack luster answer. He wouldn't pretend to know Chloe that well but a distinct lack of energy and enthusiasm from her definitely wasn't the norm. Aside from when he visited her in the hospital she was usually quite lively.

"I suppose not. Though I would ask why you thought you'd find any kind of quiet here at the Talon?" asked Lex curiously.

Chloe couldn't help the small smirk that spread across her lips. "Well, not to be rude or anything, but the Talon isn't exactly a hotspot of activity. At least, it wasn't the last couple of times I was here. I thought it would hold true today, but apparently I was wrong. It seems to be a running theme of late." You would think her ability would make life easier. But if anything it had made things more complicated.

Lex simply raised a brow at her words. Hmm, something was definitely up. Could a certain flannel clad farm boy have something to do with it? Only one way to find out.

"Things are just off to a rocky start. It's only been a couple of months since we opened. I think in time the Talon will give the Beanery some stiff competition. You just wait and see."

Chloe couldn't help snorting at Lex's optimism. "Sure, sure. And one of these days you'll go streaking through Smallville." The sudden mental image of Lex doing just that brought a dreamy but devious smile to her face. You couldn't see much from the clothes he wore but she was sure he had a nice physique.

Momentarily dumbstruck at her statement, it took Lex a moment to form a coherent response. How in the world did streaking through Smallville enter into this conversation? Shaking his head, he opened his mouth to respond until he recalled her previous statement.

"Why exactly, is the idea of the Talon becoming actual competition for the Beanery laughable?" Lex asked stiffly. There was nothing wrong with the Talon. He'd had it equipped with everything it could possibly need to thrive. No expense had been spared.

Chloe gave Lex a searching look trying to figure out if he was serious. As he kept staring at her, she was perturbed to realize that he really wanted to hear her reasoning. "Are you sure you want to hear what I have to say? Or are you just pulling my leg?" Chloe said with narrowed eyes. She wasn't in the mood to be toyed with today.

"I assure you, Ms. Sullivan. I am very much interested," he replied, a little surprised by her guarded look. What had he done to inspire that?

Judging that he was being honest, Chloe shrugged. "Alright then. But don't say I didn't warn you. Also, didn't we agree to call each other by our first names? You're not holding up your end of the bargain you know." She took another sip of her cappuccino. Meh, it was getting cold. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either. She'd wash it down with Mrs. Kent's cooking.

Lex's lips twisted in a smile. Here was the Chloe Sullivan he knew. "I'm sorry, Chloe. I'll try to remember from now on. And your warning has been duly noted. Please, enlighten me." Lex leaned back in his chair ready for whatever Chloe threw at him.

"Let's see, where to start. How about the name 'The Talon?' Of all the names you could've picked, why that one? It's not anymore original than 'The Beanery' I'll give you that, and I realize it's the name of the buildings original owner picked, but you own it now. Why not give it a different name in recognition of new ownership? Just because the place can be considered a historical landmark doesn't mean things have to stay the same."

Lex opened his mouth to respond but Chloe cut him off. She was just getting started.

"Then there's this god awful Egyptian theme. Maybe it was in 60 years ago, but in the modern era, not so much. Here it just comes off as gaudy and retro, and not in a good way. I assume Lana had some input into the decorating? What am I saying? Of course she did. It just screams her 'unique' sense of style. At least the Beanery has a homey feel to it rather than a pretentious one."

Lex tried to speak but interrupted once more. Chloe had leaned forward. The previous lack of energy and fatigue on her face was gone. In its place was an expression of determination with Chloe's eyes alight with passion and her face glowing with vigor.

"Oh yeah. Can we talk about your employees' inability to properly brew coffee? Did you even put them through proper training? Besides Mrs. Kent's baked goods, the rest of the food is only decent. And…that's about it," Chloe said ending her rant. She downed the rest of her cappuccino in one go.

Lex could only stare in befuddlement. He'd expected a few complaints. Not a full blown rant! Lex reached for his coffee to take a sip. He needed a few extra moments to gather his thoughts to form a good reply.

Chloe watched as Lex tried to form a rebuttal to her unexpected rant. She felt a sliver of amusement and satisfaction at watching him use a classic stalling tactic.

Lex set the coffee down and cleared his throat, "Well, that was certainly…something. You've obviously put a lot of thought into this."

Chloe scoffed. "This place might be a few months old but for Smallville it's still a hot topic of discussion. Those complaints aren't just my own opinions. There are other people who feel the same. Unfortunately, there's also the fact that Lana has partnered herself with a 'known' Luthor." Chloe raised her hands to make quotations marks at Lex's name.

Of course, Lex thought, being a Luthor never failed to raise people's hackles. How far away did he have to go where the name Luthor meant nothing nefarious to people.

Instead of voicing his thoughts he responded, "Really? Perhaps a consumer poll is in order." While he wasn't thrilled to hear about customer complaints, learning them would certainly go a long way in improving business. And there were some things he agreed with her on.

He'd wanted to change the name but Lana insisted on having the place pay tribute to its beginnings. The décor definitely wasn't his style but he'd left that up to Lana. He had figured she would come up with something. And she did. It just wasn't as nice as he thought it would be. But that had been okay because it really was her project. Practically all the planning had been in her hands. All he contributed was the funding and supplies for the Talon.

Honestly, he could care less if the business went under. There were plenty of ways to make his money back if it didn't start netting a profit.

Yet, Lex didn't particularly like failure. Part of him was tempted to try and help Lana out, while the other urged him to let her sink or swim on her own. The majority of the failure would be on her head not his. But he'd let her know about the complaints.

"You've made some valid points Chloe. I'll be sure to pass them on to Lana," he acknowledged and left it at that. Just cause he agreed with her didn't mean he had to let her know on what.

Chloe blinked, surprised by his calm response. She'd thought he would be at least a little defensive but nope. It only strengthened her suspicion that Lex had only let Lana keep this place running as a favor to Clark. Talk about a grand gesture. It seemed the only thing he was capable of.

Deciding not to make a big deal out of it she said, "Glad to be of help. Now is there is any reason you decided to come and sit with me?" Chloe already had an idea of why he'd approached her. Clark immediately came to mind. Picking up a fork she took a bite of her apple pie.

Equally playing things cool Lex asked, "Why does there have to be a reason? Perhaps I just came by to enjoy your company, hmm? Ever think of that Chloe?"

"No," she said bluntly, "because you never have before. Try again." She took another bite of pie savoring its flavor. Yum. If only she could eat this forever and not get fat.

A bit taken aback by her bluntness he tried again. "Is it so impossible to think I enjoy your company?" He asked.

Chloe chewed slowly as she processed Lex's question. Swallowing she fixed him with a 'do you take me for a moron' look. Lex nearly, nearly shifted under her look. Thank god for his training as a Luthor. If he been anyone else he likely would have cracked. Outwardly, he showed no reaction what so ever.

Setting down her fork Chloe clasped her hands together. "Let's set some things straight. First, no, I don't think it's impossible for you to enjoy my company. I know I'm the life of the party," she said somewhat mockingly. "Second, this is literally the only other time you've sought me out besides when you visited me in the hospital. Its been weeks since then. Why have you waited till now?" Chloe asked, as the annoyance she'd felt all day began to leak out. She knew she shouldn't be taking it out on Lex but he'd place himself within firing range.

"And last, but not least, we aren't friends Lex. We're friends of a friend. Why do I say that? Well, there's the fact that we don't hang out, I don't know your phone number so we don't call each other to talk, I don't see you on a daily or weekly basis, I've never invited you to my home, and you only invited me to your own because of our ill-fated interview.

What else? Oh! When have we ever interacted for reasons that didn't in some way involve Clark? There's also the fact that really I know nothing about you, nor you about me. Does any of this mean I don't want to be your friend? No. It's simply me stating facts and waiting for you to tell me how being skeptical of your reason for approaching me out of the blue is somehow out of line? Because me and you both know why you're here."

Chloe released a breath as some of her pent up frustration dissipated. That had felt pretty good. Maybe she needed to speak her mind more often instead of holding back? Eh. She'd think about it.

In just the space of a few minutes Lex once again found himself speechless, and more than a little miffed. She had seen right through him. A feat not many could accomplish, his father had made sure of t.

Everything she'd said was true. They weren't anything close to friends, rather acquaintances, and distant ones at that. There wasn't anything he could say to refute her statements that wouldn't make him look like foolish. Yet, she hadn't used him being a Luthor against him, so that was encouraging. And she was willing to start a friendship with him.

A different approach was needed in this situation. So, Lex opted for something he didn't do often: open honesty. "You're right, we aren't friends, but I'm willing to change that if you are," Lex said, looking at her imploringly.

"As for the reason I approached you. I wanted to ask about you and Clark. I haven't seen the two of you together in a while, and Clark's being tight-lipped about things. I wanted to see if you could tell me anything about what was going on."

Chloe folded her arms giving Lex a scrutinizing look. He sounded genuine in his desire for them to become friends. Friends with Lex Luthor. Chloe took a second to ponder that. What the hell, she'd give it a shot. He couldn't be the worst friend she'd ever made. At least she hoped not.

Chloe smiled at Lex, "Sure. Let's give it a shot."

Lex returned her smile glad that he hadn't made a fool out of himself. Distrust came much more easily to him, and he'd anxiously been waiting for the other shoe to drop. For Chloe to admit that she'd just been playing with him. Fortunately, that hadn't happened. "Alright then. Now, are you going to answer my question?"

Chloe sighed. She really didn't want to talk about Clark. There was quite enough on her mind already. But, Lex had asked and they had just agreed to become friends. She could give him this.

"Clark and I have decided to put our friendship on hiatus. I can't tell you whether it's permanent or not because really I don't know. There are some issues we need to work out, and that's best done separately."

Lex hummed in acknowledgement of her answer. That was far more than he'd gotten out of Clark. "Okay, that certainly explains why I haven't seen you two together in quite some time. However, what issues are you guys experiencing? If you don't mind me asking? Did someone forget the others birthday?" he joked.

Chloe let out a small laugh. "No, it's nothing like that. This is just something that has been building for a while. Mostly Clark's inability to see me as a friend first and a journalist second. Despite my tenacity for finding out the truth, my friends and their wellbeing will always come first. I don't know why he doesn't get that when I've never given him a reason to doubt me."

"I can see how that can be frustrating," commented Lex neutrally. He didn't know Chloe that well so he wouldn't take sides. Not to mention he didn't have all the facts.

"Right?" Chloe huffed. "Then there's the fact all he's been available for lately is research. He barely hangs out with me and Pete anymore. You and Lana occupy most of his time now. Oh, and him going off trying to be the hero!"

"What?" asked Lex startled. Had he really been taking up Clark's time that much? "Chloe, I didn't realize—"

Chloe waved away Lex's apology. "I don't blame you or Lana. Clark is his own man with his own mind. No one should have to tell him to spend more time with his old friends. Anyway, I don't really feel like discussing Clark. Can we talk about something else?"

Taken aback, "Uh, yeah, sure. What do you want to talk about?"

"Umm. So what's been up with you? Work going great?" It wasn't a great question but it was the best she could come up with until to lose some of the awkwardness of a new friendship.

"Nothing much. I've mostly been immersed with work lately. Business has been booming. Soon the plant will be unable to keep up with demand, but I've been working on ways to fix that problem. What about you? For school, I mean."

Chloe groaned. "School is really boring. Nothing has been posing a challenge of late. I'm thinking about graduating early. Outside of school?" Chloe couldn't help glaring at her empty mug. "Things aren't so great. I learned some family stuff that's kinda disturbing. Really a lot has been going on and the stress has been getting to me. I feel like—"Chloe cut herself off.

Why was she telling Lex all of this? They had just become friends only a few minutes ago. She hadn't even told Clark or Pete any of this. Why was she being so open with him?

Lex was surprised at Chloe's sudden openness. Was she always this way with people she just became friends with? He guessed he'd eventually find out.

"I'm sorry things have been so stressful for you. Maybe you should find something you like doing to relieve stress. I usually play a couple rounds of pool, or drive my Porsche for a bit. As for school, if you think you can handle it then go for it. There's nothing wrong with finishing school ahead of time." He would know. He had done the same with both high school and college.

Chloe was a bit surprised at Lex's offering of advice. "Yeah, thanks, I have to discuss things with my Dad," she said with a frown. She was not looking forward to that conversation. "And I've already got the de-stressing covered. I'm going to the gym to practice my martial arts. I haven't done it in years, and with all the danger I've been getting into lately I need the practice."

Lex perked up at that little tidbit. Chloe Sullivan actually knew how to fight? "Really? You know martial arts?"

"Yes," she huffed slightly offended. "What? You don't think I'm telling the truth?" She bit out in annoyance. That just like a guy to underestimate a girl.

"No, that's not it at all. It's just a surprise is all. Clark never mentioned anything about it."

"Well, of course he wouldn't. Nobody in Smallville knows about it. I stopped actively practicing almost two years ago. I didn't see the point in telling anyone about it. They'd have wanted me to show them some moves," she rolled her eyes at the thought.

Lex raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "You stopped practicing? Why would you do that?"

A look of guilt crossed Chloe's face. "Long story short? A kid was bullying me during a rough time in my life. He pushed too far, and I kinda snapped. I lost my temper and beat him more severely than was neccesary. He ended up in the hospital and spent some time in the intensive care unit.

It's not exactly one of my shining moments. My Dad made me stop, but considering I already felt so terrible about it, I didn't put up much of a fight about it. I loved fighting but what happened ruined some of the appeal."

"Oh, wow. Sorry I asked." And really he was sorry. He could see how badly the memory was affecting her. Deciding to switch gears, "So, what martial arts do you know?"

Shaking off her morose thoughts Chloe answered, "Krav Maga, Muay Thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a little bit of Taekwondo. I couldn't decide which one I wanted to learn more so I tried them all. Except for the last, Taekwondo. My cousin Lois practiced it and showed me some moves. Before stopping my plan had been to make my own unique style like one of the greats."

Lex watched as wistful look crossed Chloe's face. It was a shame she'd had to put her plans on hold but considering her reason for quitting it was probably for the best. "That's quite impressive. I'm partial to judo, taekwondo, and boxing myself." Lex confided with a smirk.

"No way!" Chloe sat up in disbelief. Luthor knew how to fight? Well that was at least one thing they had in common, aside from sharing a friendship with Clark.

Lex's smirk morphed into a grin at Chloe's disbelief. "I assure you, Chloe, that I'm not being facetious. Same as you, I was bullied as kid due to my appearance." Self-consciously Lex ran a hand over his head. No matter how many years had passed he was still a bit sensitive about his baldness. "Eventually I got tired of getting my ass handed to me and begged my father's driver to teach me how to fight. He was an ex-Navy SEAL. The next time someone tried to shake me for my lunch money they found themselves picking their teeth off the floor," he smugly recounted. "Of course, after experiencing the high of victory I became interested in learning more about fighting. Over the years I picked up a couple more techniques."

The assured confidence in Lex's tone partly made her believe he was telling the truth. But it was looking at his hands that truly convinced her. Those weren't the dainty hands of a man who hadn't put in a hard day's work in his life. There was a roughness and strength to them.

So she believed him, but that didn't mean she was opposed to seeing him in action to gauge how truly skilled he was.

Instead of voicing her thoughts, "Okay, I believe you," was what actually came out of her mouth.

Hearing the proverbial 'but' at the end of that sentence Lex decided to voice it, "But…"

"But, I'd rather see some proof of your skill. Considering I was just about to go Smallville gym," she trailed off leadingly.

Arching an eyebrow, Lex leaned back in his chair as he considered her proposal. He was certainly intrigued. Already he could feel his pulse racing and a tingly in his limbs making him crave for a good fight building. There was some work he needed to get done but nothing that couldn't be put off for a couple of hours.

Accepting her challenge to a spar meant getting to test her skill as well. It would be an interesting bonding experience between new friends to say the least. On the downside she wanted this to take place at the Smallville gym which meant the fight would be quite public. Being seen fighting a teenage girl, no matter how skilled she was, wouldn't exactly do wonders for his image. Unless…

Draining the rest of his coffee Lex stood up. Looking down at Chloe, "Alright. I'll accept your challenge on one condition."

Standing up as well she returned his stare. "And that condition is?"

"We'll spar but at the private gym at the mansion instead. Does that suit you?" Belatedly realizing how that might sound, he added, "Feel free to decline if the offer makes you uncomfortable. We can spar at a later date at the public gym."

Chloe had to stifle a burst of laughter at the near horrified expression that crossed Lex's face as brain processed him words.

Though she would be lying if she said his condition hadn't made her a little suspicious, but she'd give him a chance. Besides, she had been in the mansion before and knew how to escape if she really needed to. She was also sure she could kick Lex's ass if need be.

Chloe shot Lex a challenging grin. "You're on!"

* * *

 **A/N:** And here's another one. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. From now on the narrative will be picking up speed.

So, I guess after the last chapter I need to address some things. While Intuitive Aptitude may seem like some cheap way to make a character ultra-powerful it's not, when done correctly. Yes, it gives Chloe the potential to be the ultimate human being, but like everything power such as that comes with a price and limits. Those will be revealed as the story progresses. Chloe, nor Clark, will have an easy time of things, especially not in a blended world of DC and Marvel. It would be a pitifully boring story which is part of the reason I'm writing this.

The reasons for Gabe's decisions lie in his past and will be a driving force in this story. You'll learn he had quite a bit in common with a certain Smallville character.

Also, please keep in mind the perspectives. Just because someone believes something doesn't necessarily make it true. Nor does what they see mean that is exactly what happened. There is always a certain bias in any POV.

Anyway, please make sure to leave a review and let me know what you think.


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